Forced Bonds
by Shadowfang14
Summary: A 'Bendy is the son of the Devil' fanfic, with a twist...Cuphead and Mugman are also secretly being raised by King Dice instead of the Elder Kettle. How different will the Cup Brothers' story be with the Devil's son trailing them, and his right-hand man secretly helping them throughout their adventure?
1. Prologue

**A/N**: _Oh hey, someone's actually reading this. Yeah so-I've actually had this idea floating around in my head for a while, and finally decided to try it out. Don't get too excited however, I can't promise how often I'm going to update this story, or if I'm even going to continue past this part at all. See, tomorrow I'm going to be leaving for Missouri, in the hopes of finding work, so I might be busy pretty soon. You can just consider this more of a test than anything-if this first part gets at least five reviews, I'm going to consider continuing this story, when I have the time. _

_Until then, enjoy this little introduction. _

_Disclaimer: I own neither Bendy or Cuphead, and never will. _

"WAAAAAAH!"

King Dice's eyes snapped open, a scowl crossing his face. It was still pitch-black outside. Slowly, hesitantly, he turned his head to check the clock by his bedside, fearing what he'd see.

4:30

Well, that wasn't _too_ bad. Just an hour and a half away from when he normally woke up anyway.

All the same, he found himself moving _very_ sluggishly as he pulled the sheets off himself, sitting up robotically and pulling himself out of bed to check on the wailing infants in the next room.

It took all of Dice's self-control _not_ to throw the door open, though he did glare at the babies as he walked in.

"_What?!_" He hissed, as if he expected them to answer. The younger of the boys, Mugman, blinked through his tears as he looked up at Dice, his lip quivering.

The die-headed man started to cross the room to see what was wrong with the babies—but he didn't need to go far. He'd barely taken a step before the stink hit him.

"Oh, Sweet Jesus!" Dice lifted his hand to his nose in an attempt to block the smell out, and the babies started crying again.

The combination of their high-pitched bawling and the noxious stink of their soiled diapers was giving Dice a headache. He wanted nothing more than to go back to his bed and lay down forever, but he knew he'd never get rest as long as the twins were crying to be changed. Plus, they couldn't just lay there in their own filth forever.

Letting out a defeated sigh, King Dice removed his hand from his nose, crossing the rest of the way to the boys' crib.

"Alright you two, come on." Ignoring the smell as best as he could, he leaned over, picking Cuphead up in one arm, and Mugman in the other. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Mugman's head lolled along a little as King Dice carried him and his brother to the bathroom, and Dice had to carefully shift his arm to keep him from falling to the ground. Suffice to say, he wasn't used to carrying babies, much less caring for them.

King Dice couldn't help but think back to two months ago, when his boss announced the birth of his baby son…by bringing him to the casino to show everyone.

* * *

Most people wouldn't think of bringing a baby into a casino, but then again, the _Devil_ wasn't most people. And his literal hellspawn seemed to take a shine to the place right away, eyes wide as he looked around at everyone and everything, babbling in a way that could have probably been considered cute if not for the fact that he was a demon. Plus, Dice was pretty sure he saw him trying to eat some poker chips at one point.

All the same, the Devil was beaming with pride the whole time as he carried his progeny…what did he say his name was? Bendy, around. Dice had never seen that side of his boss before, and if he had to be honest, he really didn't see what the fuss was all about.

For a demon, Bendy didn't look like much. Plus, Dice didn't care for babies. Screaming, needy little squishy blobs that were only good at drinking milk, soiling themselves, and draining their parents' hard-earned money more than that casino ever could.

When he left work that night, Dice had allowed himself a good laugh as he made his way home. The Devil—the _Devil_, of all people, having a kid, and going completely gaga over it!

Granted, Bendy _was_ still a demon; who was to say what he'd be like when he grew up? He could easily grow up to be as bad as, or maybe even worse than, his father.

But right now?

King Dice had had to suppress another chuckle as he tried to imagine his boss changing diapers, singing a lullaby to try and put the baby to sleep after being woken up in the middle of the night.

"More trouble than it's worth!" He'd announced out loud to no one. "You'd never catch me carin' for a couple'a screaming brats!"

Dice didn't know if it was cosmic punishment for mocking the _**Devil's**_ son, or from the Man Upstairs for working for the Devil in the first place, but only a few weeks later, he'd ended up shackled with not one, but _two_ babies of his own.

The best part? They came from a couple of old friends of his, who he hadn't seen in years. When he went outside to see Cuphead and Mugman on his doorstep, King Dice's first thought was that he was being pranked, likely by some of his coworkers, or even the Devil himself, who had overheard his declaration the other night.

But then he saw the note in the basket with them.

* * *

That, and that alone, was the reason he was in the bathroom at 4:35 in the morning, wiping down the babies' butts and sprinkling on baby powder.

"Boy oh boy, have _I _fallen far." He grumbled, not sure if he was talking to himself, the boys, or both. "I'm the Devil's Right-Hand Man, I'm the **last** person who should be taking care of babies!" He turned Cuphead over to put on a fresh diaper, and the little cup let out a giggle.

"Funny, huh?!" Dice shot the baby a glare, though part of him was secretly relieved. At least neither he nor his brother were crying anymore. "Trust me, if it were up to me, you two would've ended up in an orphanage, or at least with someone else. People who are actually cut out to be raisin' babies." He finished with Cuphead, and moved to start diapering Mugman.

"And it's not like I haven't tried, but my hands are tied. Best I can do for now is to get a sitter to watch after you while I'm at work." King Dice let out a heavy sigh. "Even if I _wanted _you squirts, you'd be better off with someone else. Like I said, I work for the Devil, in that literally damned casino of his. All the same…" His face softened. "I owe it to your folks, so for now…"

He was cut off by the feeling of a small hand on his arm. The die-headed man looked down to see Cuphead looking back up at him. The infant stared for a second longer before a big smile crossed his face, another gurgling laugh coming from him. Mugman crawled over, joining in on the laughter, before a yawn escaped him.

"You two gonna sleep now?" King Dice asked as he picked the babies up. They were asleep in his arms before he even reached their room, laying first Cuphead, then Mugman, in the crib. The sleeping Cuphead put his arms around his brother as he was laid next to him, holding him close as they both slept.

Another person might've found it adorable, but Dice just walked off, closing the door behind him as he returned to bed, to get as much sleep as he could before dawn broke.

All the same, he made a quiet vow that he would never let the Devil learn of the boys, ever.

**A/N**: _Well, there you have it. Hope you guys liked, leave a review if you did. _


	2. A Devil of a Time

**A/N**: _Well, I decided to go ahead and continue the story (despite only getting two reviews last time), because I put my webcomic on hold while I'm up here in Columbia, MO, and I need SOME way to express myself creatively, dammit! Don't get too excited though-I'm only going to be updating on weekends, when I have more spare time. I do, however, plan to see this story through to the end, regardless of how stuff in my real life turns out, and when I eventually DO get back to working on the comic. I can't promise how frequent updates will be, or even how long the story is going to be, but I have NO intentions of abandoning this story-I've got a couple fanfics I abandoned, and eventually ended up deleting, in the past, and I just felt really guilty about it. _

_So yeah, I'm going to see this through, and I hope you guys like the whole story. Now, before I get into the next chapter, wanted to give a shout-out to my reviewers from the prologue._

_AlchemyWriter: Well, I'm glad you liked the prologue, hope the rest of the story is just as good! Yeah, Gravity Falls is great, huh? I haven't actually read your fanfic yet...gonna have to give it a look sometime. _

_Pitch'snieceanddaughterofmew (long name, BTW ^^'): Heh, got that right! Things are going to get even MORE hectic for him and the boys pretty soon..._

_Well, that's that, on to the fanfic._

_Disclaimer: I'm only one person, and neither of those people is TheMeatly or one of the Muldenhouer brothers. Ergo, I don't own either Bendy or Cuphead. _

"Awww, why can't we come with you?!"

"Like I said, I'll be busy." King Dice answered, brushing his suit off. "I won't have time to play with you—I'll be working. Besides, you don't want to be there, it's…boring."

Cuphead pouted and crossed his arms.

It had been ten years, and the Cup Brothers were still under King Dice's care. Somehow, in all that time, he'd managed to keep secret the fact that he worked for a casino run by the Devil. He'd just drop the boys at school, head over to the casino, then either head out himself or send someone else out to take them home.

Though since it was summer now, he'd had to find a sitter to watch the boys during the day—a sitter who was _running late_.

_**Dang it, where is that girl?!**_

"It's not fair!" Cuphead whined. "We barely get to see you all day, and after all this time we still don't even know what your job is, anyway!"

"Never you mind!" Dice snapped, a little more harshly than he intended. He sighed, putting a hand to the side of his head. "Look boys, there are just some things I can't tell you right now…all you need to know is that I'm doing all I can to…"

"King Dice?" Mugman piped up. Dice stopped mid-sentence, looking over at the younger of the twins.

"You know you can tell us anything, right? We won't think any less of you-you raised us, after all." He offered an earnest smile, and Dice was surprised at the pang of guilt that struck him. It was brief, but it was there.

Finally, he found his voice again.

"One day, when you're older. But for now;" He grabbed the lapels of his shirt. "I've gotta get going. I think you two can take care of yourselves until the babysitter gets here?"

"Yes, King Dice." The boys answered.

Once the door was closed, Cuphead waited a little bit before turning to his brother.

"Let's follow him!"

"What?!" Mugman looked at his brother, horrified, and a mischievous smirk crossed Cuphead's face.

"Yeah! Better than just staying here waiting for the babysitter!"

"But what if he catches us?!" Mugman asked worriedly.

"Well then, we'll just have to be sneaky, and make sure he doesn't see us!" Cuphead winked.

"Cup…" Mug started, and Cuphead let out a sigh.

"Look, what do we _really_ know about King Dice?" He asked. "He's been raising us all these years, but he always keeps all these secrets. I don't…" He paused for a while. "I don't think he even _likes_ us."

Mugman started to protest, but found himself at a loss for words.

He'd never said it out loud, but he couldn't help but feel the same way. King Dice had looked after them since they were small, but he'd made it clear that that was _only_ because their dead parents were friends of his. Granted, Dice was never outright _cruel_ to them or anything—he kept them clothed, fed, and they had a roof over their heads…but Dice never laughed or even smiled around the boys. He kept a lot from them—what was he hiding?

"…alright." Mugman finally agreed. "But let's be sure to be careful, okay?"

"Well, duh!" Cuphead gave a big, cocky grin before quietly opening the door and slipping out, Mugman following close behind him.

* * *

The little demon bounced along the road, a big, happy smile on his face as he hummed to himself.

Like Cuphead and Mugman, the Devil's son, Bendy, had grown too, and was a chipper, happy-go-lucky (though still somewhat mischievous) imp of a child. In fact, he was almost the complete opposite of his father—as hard as the Devil tried, it seemed that Bendy didn't have a bad bone in his body.

However, this didn't stop most Inkwell Isle residents from being scared when they saw him—if, for no other reason, because he was the Devil's son.

Bendy stopped in his tracks as he noticed someone nearby. A six-legged spider was running along, pulling a wooden duck on a string.

_Another kid!_ The demon thought happily. _I wonder if he'll want to be friends?_

Bendy hopped into the bushes as the spider, Edgar, approached, trying to stifle his giggles as best as he could. Once Edgar was close enough, Bendy jumped out, giving him a big wave.

"Hey there!"

Edgar let out a terrified squeak, tripping over his own feet.

"Whoa, hey, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you _that_ much!" Bendy's smile faded. "Are you okay?" He held out his hand to try and help Edgar up, but the spider didn't take it.

"My uncles told me about you—you're the Devil's son…" His voice was high and squeaky in his fear, and Bendy gave him a confused look.

"Uh…yeah? What's so bad about that?"

"Hey!" An angry voice suddenly shouted. Bendy looked up in alarm to see two men approaching him.

"You bothering our nephew?!" Barley the pirate asked, an accusing look on his face.

"What?! No!" Bendy held up his hands defensively. "I was just…!"

"Why don't you beat it, kid?!" Charley snapped. "Don't let us see you around here again!"

Bendy didn't need to be told twice. He took off running in fear of the two adults, hiding in some more hedges nearby. As soon as he was out of sight, he saw Charley and Barley turn to Edgar, their faces softening as they helped the little spider up.

"You okay there, son?" Barley asked.

"That punk didn't hurt you, did he?" Charley questioned, glaring around the corner as if he could still sense Bendy.

"Hmm-mmm!" Edgar shook his head, picking his duck toy up again. "I was just scared."

"Well, don't let him bother you." Charley gave an encouraging smile, putting a hand on Edgar's shoulder. "Let's get out of here, okay?"

As the trio walked off, Bendy couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

"_**Did you really think that would go any other way?"**_

Bendy perked up as he heard his father's voice behind him.

"Dad!"

The Devil's figure formed out of the darkness, grinning down at his son.

"_**Bendy, Bendy, when will you learn?"**_ The Devil shook his head. _**"You don't need them. You are above all those people—you are my heir, after all." **_

"Yeah, I know…" Bendy looked down, his smile fading.

"_**Now then—I have a job for you." **_

Bendy's tail stuck straight up in excitement.

"Really?!"

"_**At this moment, there are two young boys heading to the casino." **_The Devil looked off into the distance, as if he could see Cuphead and Mugman already. "_**You are to lead them to the casino, tempt them to gamble."**_

Bendy looked over at Cuphead and Mugman.

"But…they're kids, like me. Can they really come into the casino?"

"_**Well, of course!"**_ The Devil assured him. _**"After all, you come to the casino yourself all the time, right? And hey, maybe if you invite them to play some games, they might want to be friends with you!"**_

That got Bendy excited right away.

"You think so?! Alright!" He bounced a little in his happiness before running off. "I'll get those cups—see you at the casino, Pop!"

The Devil watched until Bendy was out of view, then turned his gaze on the OTHER figure he'd seen; King Dice, on his way to the Inkwell Hell Casino. The cup brothers were following him, the Devil knew it.

He was a lot of things, but he was NOT stupid. He'd long suspected that Dice was hiding something from him, and if those cups were connected to him…

"_**Did you REALLY think you could keep a secret from me for over ten years, Dice?"**_ He chuckled. _**"Let's see if you have a heart, old friend."**_

**A/N**: _Oh boys, you don't know WHAT you're getting yourselves into...and neither, it would seem, does Bendy. Poor, naive little demon..._

_I just HAD to have that moment with the Butcher Gang-since the short 'Tasty Trio Troubles' seems to confirm that Edgar is the youngest, or at least most immature/childish member of the gang, I now like to imagine that Charley and Barley found him when he was really little and basically just adopted him. _

_So, what will happen next? You'll just have to see next time-and if you liked the story, leave me a review!_


	3. New Friends? Or Victims?

**A/N**: _Seriously, guys? Not even ONE review for the last chapter? C'mon, at least humor me?! _

_Well, here's the next chapter, please review?_

_Disclaimer: I own Cuphead and BATIM like I own the moon. _

Mugman looked around hesitantly as he and Cuphead followed King Dice, as if worried that he was going to teleport behind them any second and demand to know what they were up to. Or that someone, or something, else would pop up and surprise them.

"Maybe we should go back, Cup." He said nervously. "The babysitter's probably already at our house by now, she'll be wondering where we are…"

Cuphead started to tell his brother to get a grip, only to freeze in his tracks as he saw the building Dice entered.

"Mugs…look."

Mugman looked where his brother was pointing, and his mouth fell open in shock.

"A casino?!"

"Not only that, the best casino in all of Inkwell Isle!"

The Cup Brothers started at the sound of the voice and whipped around to see the little demon standing behind them, his smile fading as he saw the looks on their faces.

"Sorry!" He rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish look on his face. "I should stop just popping up and surprising people…"

"What…who are you?!" Cuphead demanded, and Bendy's smile returned.

"Name's Bendy!" He beamed happily. "Bendy the Dancing Demon!" He did a little twirl in front of the brothers to demonstrate, but neither of them so much as cracked a smile.

"A d…d…demon?!" Mugman's voice shook in fear.

"Well yeah—but don't worry, I ain't gonna hurt you! I wouldn't hurt a fly, promise!"

"Oh yeah?" Cuphead challenged, balling his hands into fists as if getting ready for a fight. "Why should we trust you?!"

"Cause I wanna be friends!" Both Cuphead and Mugman stared at him blankly. When neither of them said a word, Bendy took that as a sign to continue. "See…I don't have a lot of friends. Most people who meet me are scared of me, or at least treat me weird, cause I'm a demon." His smile faded. "That's actually why I started calling myself 'The Dancing Demon'—to show that I'm friendly!"

Mugman's face started to soften, but Cuphead crossed his arms, still looking at him in suspicion.

"Uh-huh, sure." Bendy either didn't catch the sarcasm in Cuphead's voice, or he just didn't care, because he looked past them, to the casino.

"Neat, isn't it? The casino?" He turned back around to look at the two of them, smiling just as big as ever. "You want to go in and play some games?"

"What?! No!" Mugman protested. "We're underaged—besides, we were just following our guardian…"

"Well, maybe you can meet him in there!" Bendy offered. "Who knows? Maybe you can even surprise him with your winnings!"

Those words sparked something in Cuphead.

"Winnings?"

"Mmm-hmm!" Bendy nodded. "Gambling's tricky, but if you play the games right, you can win a lot of money!"

"Cup, NO!" Mugman looked over at his brother, but it was too late. Dollar signs flashed in the elder twin's eyes as he thought of all the money he could get.

"Come on, Mugs!" Cuphead grabbed his brother's arm. "I can already smell that dough!" With those words he ran off, ignoring Mugman's shouts of protest; all thoughts of King Dice gone.

Bendy beamed as he watched them, his tail wagging like a dog's.

_I did it! Dad'll be so proud of me! And those guys seem really swell, too! Maybe later we can all play together?_

With these thoughts he hurried off after them, keeping up as best as he could.

"Hey, guys! Wait for me!"

* * *

"King Dice? Hey, Dice!"

King Dice looked over at his employee as he reached the casino.

"Mr. Wheezy, what do you want?"

"Not me, boss!" The cigar answered in his raspy voice. "The Big Guy wants to see you in his office."

King Dice raised an eyebrow, a suspicious feeling spreading over him. This early? That couldn't be a good sign…

He hoped he looked more confident than he felt as he made his way to the Devil's office, humming to himself. Once he opened the door, he was treated to the Devil looking over some papers.

Some soul contracts, no doubt…

"You wanted to see me, boss?" King Dice asked, making sure to keep his tone even.

_**"Indeed, King Dice."**_ The Devil answered, holding out the paper to him. _**"Do you know what this is?"**_

"One of your soul contracts." Dice answered without skipping a beat. "Boss, I've been working with you for twenty-five years, I know what…"

_**"Good."**_ The Devil cut him off. _**"Then you'll also remember that I'm missing a few."**_ His smile faded a little._** "People have come and gone from this casino over the years, and more than a few of them skipped out on their deals."**_ The Devil put the contract away and held out his hands, causing flames to appear in them again, forming many figures in his hands.

**_"All those souls out there—souls that should be mine_."** He glowered, his smile fading entirely. _**"Those fools cheated me, Dice! Back out on our deals!"**_

Dice couldn't help but wince a little at the tone of his boss' voice.

"Well, you know how it is, boss." He tried for a smirk. "People think they can make a deal with the devil and just run. But sooner or later, their bad karma catches up with them."

_**"I couldn't agree more, Dice."**_ The Devil gave him an evil leer, and King Dice got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. _**"Fortunately,"**_ He pulled himself up and walked over to the door. _**"My problem may be solved soon enough."**_ He opened the door, motioning for Dice to look outside. The die-headed man obliged…and his mouth fell open at what he saw.

There were Cuphead and Mugman at the craps table, and with them was the Devil's own little brat, cheering Cuphead on as he rolled the dice. Out of the corner of his eye, King Dice was faintly aware of the Devil smirking at him.

_**"My, what's with that face, Dice? Do you know those cups?"**_

Damn it.

King Dice wiped the shock off his face as best as he could, clearing his throat and fixing his suit again.

"Not often that we get kids in here. Kind of surprised, was all."

_**"Yes, Bendy may not be much of a demon, but he's always been desperate for friends."**_ The Devil chuckled._** "And who knows? Maybe after once I claim the cups' souls, they can all be friends forever!"**_

King Dice's heart stopped.

"You don't mean…"

_**"Yes, I do."**_ The Devil stepped out of the office, a big grin on his face. _**"It's been a long time since I've had a good game."**_ He turned to Dice, a big grin on his face. _**"Care to watch? Don't forget—I own you, too."**_

King Dice let out a heavy sigh, defeated. He was right. As much as Dice didn't want to admit it, he didn't have a choice.

"Yes, Boss."

**A/N**_: Uh-oh...the Devil's got Cuphead and Mugman right where he wants them...what will happen now?! Will Bendy catch on to his father's plans? Will King Dice do anything?! Stay tuned to find out, and leave a review!_


	4. Reluctant and Unknowing Minions

**A/N**: _Alright, here's the next chapter! Just a heads up though-updates MAY start taking (even) longer after a while, since the next chapter after this one is the last one I wrote before I decided to post the story on . And with a possible upcoming job and everything else in my life, I'm not certain when I'll have time to write the new chapters. Don't worry though, like I said, since I decided to go through with making a whole story, I plan to see it through to the end! _

_AlchemyWriter: IKR? Glad you liked the last chapter, now let's see what happens when King Dice is forced to watch his two young charges gamble against his boss..._

_Disclaimer: Cuphead is owned by the Moldenhauer Brothers, Bendy and the Ink Machine is owned by theMeatly. I just got the idea to combine them. _

Never in his life had Cuphead felt luckier than he did right there, in the casino. All thoughts of King Dice went flying out the window with every throw of the dice, every coin and dollar bill he collected.

Despite Mugman's protests, Cuphead was blinded by greed, and Bendy definitely wasn't helping. With every game he won, Bendy cheered and applauded, fueling Cuphead's ego even more.

"Cuphead, this really doesn't feel right…" Mugman wrung his hands nervously, and out of the corner of his eye, Bendy noticed his father coming over to their table. His tail wagging like an excited dog's, he ran over to the Devil, a big smile on his face.

"Look, Dad! I brought those cups here, like you asked! And we're having so much fun!"

_**"Yes, you have done well, my son."**_ A pleased smile on his face, the Devil petted Bendy's head affectionately. _**"But now, I have another job for you. Could you go check on Mister King Dice while I challenge those cups to a game?"**_

"Sure thing, Dad!" Bendy hurried over to where Dice was watching the scene in front of him, trying to keep stony-faced. "Hiya, Mister King Dice! I made some new friends, see?!" He pointed at the cups, and Dice gritted his teeth.

"Stupid kids—how did they even get here?!"

"I brought them!" Bendy announced proudly. "Just like Dad asked me!"

Of course. Of _course_.

* * *

_**"Nice run, boys! Now, how about we raise the stakes?"**_

Both Cuphead's and Mugman's heads shot up simultaneously, their blood running cold as they saw the Devil standing before them. He held his hand out, opening it to show a pair of dice.

_**"Win one more roll, and all the loot in my casino is yours!"**_ He boomed. _**"But if you lose, I'll have your souls! Deal?"**_

"No…" Dice whispered, surprising himself.

Why did he care? He'd seen his boss bargain countless people out of their souls before.

There was the lonely bird who wanted to be a father. The would-be actress who wanted to be a starlet. The genie who just wanted his freedom.

But then again, all of them were adults, and had sold their souls of their own free will, bolting when the time came to collect. Those boys were kids…kids that he'd been looking after for ten years now.

...as a favor to his deceased friends, of course.

Everything that happened next seem to go in slow-motion. Cuphead grabbed the dice from the Devil, shook his fist, and, ignoring his brother's protests, tossed them onto the craps table.

The dice bounced once. Twice. Three times.

King Dice didn't see where the dice landed, but he didn't need to, because his boss let out a booming laugh, slamming the floor.

_**"SNAKE EYES! You LOSE!**_" Next to King Dice, a confused look crossed Bendy's face.

"Hey, what's wrong with those guys? They look…scared."

Indeed, Cuphead and Mugman trembled with fear, falling to their knees.

"Th-there must be another w-way to repay you!" Mugman stammered.

"Yes, p-please, mister!" Cuphead added.

_**"Hmm, perhaps there is."**_ Dice saw the Devil pull out the parchment about a second before it happened. He wasn't sure whether or not he was imagining things, but he could've sworn he saw the Devil's eyes flicker over to look at him for a second as he continued.

_**"I have here a list of my runaway debtors. Collect their souls for me, and I just might pardon you two mugs."**_

Slowly, Cuphead reached up to collect the parchment with shaking hands. He looked so scared—he and Mugman BOTH did.

Not that Dice could blame them; they were, after all, _kids_.

_**"Now get going!"**_ The Devil pulled himself up, pointing to where the exit was. _**"You have 'til midnight tomorrow to collect every one of those souls! Otherwise, I'll be the one collecting yours!"**_

Finally, Dice found his voice, and spoke up.

"Hold up, Boss!"

"King Dice!" Cuphead and Mugman looked over as he approached, a very big, very fake, smile on his face. Dice ignored them and looked up at the Devil.

"How's bout I escort them out?"

_**"Well well, Dice, considering that you seem to know each other, I wouldn't be opposed to that."**_

The Devil's smile was still in place as he spoke, but there was a menacing glint in his eye, and Dice knew that the second he came back, he would face repercussions for hiding something from his boss.

But first, he needed to have a word with these disobedient cups…

King Dice put a hand on either of the boys' backs, guiding them outside as the Devil watched, Bendy walking over to join him.

_**"You see that, Bendy?"**_ He asked. _**"**_**That**_** is why you can't count on mortals, even those closest to you."**_

An uneasy look crossed Bendy's face.

"Y…you're not really gonna take their souls, are you Dad?"

_**"Oh, of course not!"**_ The Devil lied. _**"That was just to make sure they hurried and got the contracts!"**_

Bendy frowned, thinking. He wasn't sure whether or not to believe his dad—and he didn't want his new friends losing their souls.

Suddenly, an idea came to him.

_I'll go to talk to the debtors; maybe if they know what's going on, they'll just give the contracts over to Cuphead and Mugman, and nobody has to get hurt!_

"I'm going out now Dad, I'll see you later!" With a quick wave he ran off, and the Devil just chuckled as he saw him leave.

He had a VERY good idea what was going through his son's mind, and he wasn't about to stop him.

Poor, naïve Bendy. No matter how this turned out, he was going to help his father get souls; and he didn't even know it.

**A/N**: _And with that, the events of the story are set into place. I kind of had the feeling that, since evil doesn't come naturally to Bendy, despite him being a demon, the Devil would subtly manipulate him to make sure that he'd get Cuphead's and Mugman's souls...or at the very least, they'd get the snot beaten out of them over and over again. Cause, you know, Devil. Of course, it's nothing compared to what I have in mind for him and Bendy later on in the story..._

_Anyway-what will happen now? Will King Dice be able to help Cuphead and Mugman? Will Bendy catch on to his father's devious ways and save his new friends? Stay tuned to find out...and review!_


	5. The Adventure Begins

**A/N**: _And...here it is, guys! Cuphead and Mugman are about to start their adventure, like in the game...but this time, King Dice will be the one preparing them, and of course the Devil's right-hand man has a few tricks up his sleeve to make sure his young charges survive long enough for him to stick it to the Devil. Let's just say that in this version, King Dice isn't exactly serving the Devil by choice..._

_Ivy Pearl: Oh hey, a new reader! Well um, not sure what your review means...I just hope you're liking the story so far, and you'll like this chapter!_

_AlchemyWriter: Oh, just brace yourself...the Devil is going to get MUCH worse as the story goes on..._

_Disclaimer: If I owned either Cuphead or BATIM there would've already been an in-game crossover. _

As King Dice led him and Mugman outside, Cuphead could actually see his life flashing before his eyes.

This was it. If King Dice didn't kill him and Mugman for coming to the casino in the first place, the Devil would take their souls for sure.

_I'm stupid. This was so stupid—this was all my fault…_

Cuphead felt a lump start forming in his throat about a second before they turned a corner, and King Dice let him and Mugman go, spinning them around to look at him.

"HAVE YOU TWO CUPS LOST YOUR DING-DANG MINDS?!" He demanded, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "DO YOU _KNOW_ WHAT KIND OF PLACE THIS IS?! WHAT POSSESSED YOU TO COME TO THE DEVIL'S CASINO IN THE FIRST PLACE?!"

Mugman flinched at King Dice's shouting and started tearfully apologizing, until something dawned on Cuphead.

"Wait. What were _you_ doing in there?"

"Don't change the subject!" Dice snapped. "You two are in hot water now, let me tell you!"

"Sorry, King Dice!" Mugman apologized. "It was this little demon—he tempted us to come here!" King Dice gritted his teeth, balling his hands into fists.

"Bendy. Of course."

Now it was Mugman's turn to look at him suspiciously.

"Wait, how do you know about Bendy?"

"I…" King Dice sighed. "Well, guess I might as well tell you." He rubbed the back of his head, looking off to the side. "I…I work in the Devil's casino. I'm his second-in-command."

"What?!" The brothers' mouths fell open in shock, and King Dice felt shame wash over him. Despite himself, he couldn't help but be reminded, again, of the boys' parents.

Teapot and Teacup were some of his closest friends growing up—before he entered the Devil's servitude, of course. They were so alike, even before they became a couple, down to pulling the same facial expressions. Especially when Dice did something bad. Then he was hit with a double dose of horrified/disappointed faces.

And now here he was, getting double-teamed again, and by the couple's _kids_ at that.

"I…" King Dice sighed. "I didn't have a choice."

"What do you…?" Mugman started to ask, but Dice cut him off.

"Look, that's not important right now. What _is _important is that, at least for now, you've gotta play the Devil's game, or risk losing your souls. Don't want that now, do ya?"

"Of course not!" Cuphead answered.

"Good, now listen up." King Dice said. "I've seen the debtors. They were all pretty desperate when they made their deals, and many of them are nasty folk. They ain't gonna be happy to see you kids; and they _ain't_ gonna hold back just cause you're kids! In fact, most of 'em were given powers by the Devil, and I've got a feelin' they'll have no problem using 'em, turning themselves into monsters just to get at you two."

"Oh man!" Cuphead gulped.

"We're _dead_!" Mugman trembled.

"No, you ain't." King Dice said. "Not as long as you're smart—and as long as you two take this potion." He held a vial out to them, and Cuphead gave it a suspicious look.

"Potion?"

"Yeah, now drink it already!" King Dice snapped. "It'll give you two magical abilities!"

Cuphead uncorked the vial, draining about half of it, then passing the rest to Mugman. Once they were done, the boys felt a weird sensation spreading through their bodies.

"I feel…funny." Mugman remarked as he and Cuphead looked down at their fingers, seeing sparks start to come from them.

"See that lamppost there?" King Dice said, pointing at it. "Shoot it." The boys looked at him in confusion for a moment, then made finger gun motions at the lamppost. Blasts came from their fingers, leaving scorch marks on the post.

Cuphead's eyes widened in shock.

"Whoa…"

"Okay, good." Dice nodded. "You boys are powered up—best head out now, get to those debtors. I'll meet you at each new island to let you through, but I _can't_ let you pass unless you've got the soul contracts. Sorry boys, but my hands are tied enough as is."

"Alright, but don't think this is over!" Cuphead glared at him before running off. Mugman didn't follow him, however, looking down at the ground.

"Mugs?" Cuphead called.

"…coming." Mugman answered after a little while. He followed his brother, and despite himself, King Dice couldn't help but feel just a twinge of worry for them.

"Poor kids. I know what it's like, bein' a pawn for the Devil. Least you two had a _choice_—maybe, if you play your cards right, you can actually get out of this." After about a second he walked back into the casino, wondering what his boss had in store for him now that he knew about his connection to the boys.

* * *

"Hello? Anyone here?" Bendy popped into the garden he knew was home to some of his dad's runaway debtors: the Root Pack. "Hello?"

Psycarrot, the de facto leader of the group, had been talking to the other two when Bendy came in. Once they caught sight of the little demon, simultaneous gasps came from the trio of vegetables.

"Oh no!" Weepy put his hands to his face, looking like he was about to burst out crying, as usual.

"The Devil's brat!" Moe Tato's look of horror turned to anger as he glared at him. "What are you doing here? Did your pop send you to take our soul contracts?!"

"What? Oh no no no!" Bendy waved his hands reassuringly. "But he sent some other kids—a kid with a cup for a head, and one with a mug for a head! They lost a game with my dad, so he told them to get you guys' contracts!"

"Yeah right!" Moe glared at him, crossing his arms. "Why should we believe _you_?!"

"He's not lying." Psycarrot said, putting a hand to his head. His two normal eyes were closed, his third eye visible on his forehead as he read Bendy's mind. "Two brothers: Cuphead and Mugman, it looks like?"

"Yeah!" Bendy smiled happily. "They're my friends! And I know they don't want to hurt you guys—so when they come, could you just…hand your contract over? Or maybe just talk things through? So that way, no one has to get hurt!"

Moe started to yell at the little demon, but Psycarrot put a hand over his mouth.

"Of course!" He offered Bendy a sweet, but fake, smile. "We understand. Don't you worry about it son, we'll play nice with your little friends when they come!"

"Great!" A big, happy smile crossed Bendy's face. Giving the Root Pack one last wave, he skipped off.

* * *

Bendy hummed to himself as he continued on to the next couple of debtors to explain things. Goopy le Grande was next, followed by Ribby and Croaks. As he turned to go talk to Hilda Berg, Bendy heard the frogs start talking among themselves.

"I don't know Ribs, I don't feel good fightin' a couple of kids..."

"Think, Croaks! Would you rather lose your soul instead?!"

"Well no, but...!"

"Anyway," Bendy heard Ribby continue, "I'm willing to bet my boxing gloves that's all part of that little demon's plan. He and his dad probably figured we'd give up without a fight and just hand our souls over like THAT if he sent kids!"

"You think so?"

"I _know_ so!" Ribby said. "What else can you expect from the Devil's son?"

"Yeah, you're right. Kid's probably just as evil as his father. Daddy's little demon!" Without even looking, Bendy could see Ribby and Croaks sneering, and he felt his heart sink.

He knew a lot of people didn't like him...and it wasn't fair! Yes, he was a demon, but that didn't make him _evil_!

Right?

**A/N**: _Aww...poor, sweet, naive Bendy. _

_Well, hate to disappoint guys, but this MAY be the last chapter for a while, like I mentioned in my last update. I had job training last week, so I might start working my new temp job later this week. I'll try and work on the next chapter/next couple of chapters when I have the time, but right now, I don't know what my schedule will look like so yeah...figured I'd just go ahead and let you know. _

_Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, all the same! If you did, leave me a review!_


	6. Sins of the Fathers

**A/N**: _Well, here it is-I actually managed to find time to work on the next chapter! I started work yesterday-I kept busy all day long, helping to prepare lunch, and then later dinner, for this one club, was on my feet all day...I liked it. But yeah, since I'm doing a temp position, my shifts will vary...and since I still have some obstacles (namely, transportation), I can't really go in for night shifts right now. Luckily, I went in to talk to my supervisor today, she agreed that I can work day shifts, she'll email me the schedules so I can know when they need my help. Hoping I can come in some more next week, and that this will work out!_

_Anyway, enough of that now, when we left the Cup Brothers, they had started on their quest to collect the soul contracts, with an unwitting Bendy going ahead to warn the debt collectors about them. What will happen now?! Read on to find out!_

_AlchemyWriter: Yeah...life's not easy when you're the son of the Devil, and everyone and their dog thinks you're as evil as your father. Thanks, by the way!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Cuphead or Bendy, they belong to their respective creators._

"Thanks, Mr. Porkrind!" Cuphead said as he paid for the items for him and Mugman. He walked back over to his brother, a scowl crossing his face.

"Not that I don't trust King Dice, but I don't think that potion of his is gonna be enough." Mugman took some of the items wordlessly, keeping his eyes on the ground. Cuphead took that as an opportunity to resume speaking.

"Okay, that's a lie. I _don't_ trust King Dice." He glowered as the brothers started walking along. "I mean, all this time, all these years we've known him…and he was working for the Devil!" He gritted his teeth. "Heck, who knows how many of the people we're going after…"

"He said he didn't have a choice." Mugman finally spoke up. "Cup…something happened to King Dice. Something that forced him to start working in that casino, under the Devil." He looked at Cuphead seriously. "Maybe something like what happened to the debtors."

Cuphead was quiet for a long time, doing some thinking.

Why would someone sell their soul to the Devil, anyway? These people were probably desperate when they made their deals. Heck, they _had_ to be, to have gone that far…

Finally, Cuphead spoke again.

"Mugs, I've got a plan…"

* * *

King Dice fell to his knees, using one hand to keep himself from falling face-first to the ground, the other clutching his chest. An agonized look crossed his face as his boss walked over, wearing a disappointed expression.

"_**King Dice, do you remember the promise you made the day I gave you your title?**_"

"I…" Dice started. The Devil didn't give him a chance to continue, however. He squeezed the roll of paper tighter in his fist, blue flame engulfing it, and King Dice felt another wave of pain wrack his body. He bit his tongue to keep himself from screaming, though he couldn't stop his body from giving out, falling forward onto the cold, hard floor.

"_**You promised loyalty to me, and me alone.**_" The Devil answered his own question, the flames fading. "_**You would serve only me, do what I say without question…and you would **_**not**_** keep secrets from me.**_"

"I…I had to!" King Dice finally found his voice, trying (and failing) to lift his head to meet his master's eyes. "As a favor…to some old friends…"

Even as he said it, King Dice was aware of how stupid, how _childish_, it sounded. The Devil evidently agreed, as he let out a harsh, evil laugh.

"_**You don't HAVE friends, King Dice! Not a creature in the world cares for you…why, your own **__parents__** sold you to me to pay off their debt!**_"

Ignoring the old wound resurfacing in his heart at the mention of the reminder, King Dice swallowed hard, finally finding the strength to look up at the Devil.

"Just...just what are you planning?"

"_**That is not for you to worry about.**_" The Devil jeered. "_**Let's just say that I have plans for my boy...plans involving YOUR boys.**_"

He snapped his fingers, and Mr. Wheezy came forward, flanked by Phear Lap.

"_**Take him out of my sight.**_"

* * *

Bendy hummed to himself as he walked along the road, a small smile on his face.

He'd managed to talk to every single one of the debtors on Inkwell Isle 1, so now Cuphead and Mugman should have no problem when they got to them!

Bendy was just thinking about how, when this was all over, he could go out and play with the cup brothers more…when he heard it. The sound of fighting. He turned…and gasped at the sight he saw.

Psycarrot was beaten and bruised…and he wasn't the only one. Shakily, Cuphead helped Mugman to his feet, and Bendy couldn't help but notice they were injured. Not too badly, it didn't look like…but it was noticeable.

Cuphead held out his hand, and Psycarrot sighed, handing over the Root Pack's soul contract.

Bendy's mouth fell open in shock. They actually fought?! He saw Cuphead and Mugman dust themselves off before continuing on their way…right in Bendy's direction.

"Guys, are you okay?!" He asked, hurrying over to them. "What happened?! I told them not to hurt you, I…!"

Cuphead whipped over right away, giving the little demon an accusing glare.

"That was _you_?! Did you tell all the debtors we were coming to take their souls?!" Bendy actually flinched a little at Cuphead's tone, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"Just the ones on Inkwell Isle 1…I just wanted to help!"

"You've 'helped' enough!" Cuphead snapped. Mugman, however, seemed to see how scared Bendy was, because he looked over at his brother.

"Hold on, Cup!" He gave Bendy a quick look. "Um…excuse us a moment!" He spun around, Cuphead following suit, before speaking. "Cuphead, call me crazy…but I don't think he really means any harm." The elder twin's eyes widened as he listened to his brother's words.

"You're right." He gave his brother a sharp look. "You _are_ crazy."

"**Look** at him!" Mugman insisted. "He doesn't know what he's doing is wrong!"

"You're kidding, right?!" Cuphead demanded. "Look, King Dice was one thing, but _him_?! He's a _**demon**_!"

"He's a kid, just like us!" Mugman shot back. "Look, I can't explain it, but I know he's not evil."

"He's the one who got us to gamble in that casino!" Cuphead pointed out.

"Got _you_ to gamble." Mugman reminded him. "If you weren't so greedy…!"

"Fine." Cuphead snapped. Before Mugman could say another word, he spun back around, crossing his arms as he looked at Bendy.

"Hey! Stretchy!"

"Bendy." Bendy corrected.

"Whatever!" Cuphead rolled his eyes. "You wanna help?"

"Yeah, I do!" Bendy insisted.

"Fine. We'll give you a chance."

"Really?!" Bendy perked up excitedly, his tail wagging like a dog's.

"Yeah!" Mugman said, giving him a friendly smile. He looked over at his brother. "We should get a move on if we want to get the rest of the contracts." Cuphead nodded and started to follow him—but stopped long enough to grab Bendy's shoulder.

"Just so you know, Mugman may trust you, but I _don't_." He narrowed his eyes at him. "And if I see you doing anything to stop or slow us down…or worse—I'm gonna send you back to hell personally!" The tip of his finger sparked in warning, and Bendy gulped. Cuphead gave him one last glare before letting Bendy go, following after his brother.

**A/N**: _And so Bendy joins the brothers on their quest...but all is not well. What will happen now? What does the Devil have planned for them...as well as King Dice?! Stay tuned to find out, and as always, review!_


	7. Inner Demons

**A/N**: _Hey there, folks. Back with the next chapter...I figured I'd go ahead and post this tonight because I have work four days in a row, counting today/tonight, so I figured I'd put the next chapter up after I came back from work. Well, that and last week I finally decided to get back to working on my original webcomic, now that I'm getting a better handle on things. I'm going to be gone for quite a while tomorrow, but I want to do some work on the next page either before or after work, so yeah. _

_And yeah...Bendy is with the Cupbros now! Will this team-up be for better...or worse? Read on to find out!_

_AlchemyWriter: Oh...I have plans for this team-up-Bendy WILL eventually be able to help Cuphead and Mugman, but that might not be for a little while. And when he **does** jump in...well...let's just say it's not going to be as expected..._

_JOHNHAMMOND1993: Good to see you again, pal! Like I said above, Bendy will, after a while, be able to pitch in during battles but well...yeah. I'm going to be evil and say you just have to keep reading to find out :)_

_Well now, on to the story!_

_Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I don't own Cuphead or Bendy, and neither do you. _

Bendy rubbed the back of his head nervously as he followed the Cup brothers. Goopy le Grande was next on their list…Bendy remembered the day he came into the casino. The slime had wanted to be stronger—to be a good fighter.

And if he really wanted to fight…

_Gah, what was I thinking?! _Bendy slapped his forehead. _I'm so stupid!_

"Hey!" Bendy looked up, realizing that Cuphead had been talking to him.

"H…huh?"

"I asked if you have any special powers? Some way to fight back?!"

"Uh…no? I don't think so?"

Cuphead gave him an incredulous look.

"Seriously? A _demon_ doesn't have any like, supernatural, otherworldly abilities or **anything**?!"

Bendy felt his face grow hot.

"Hey—just because I'm a demon doesn't mean I'm evil, or can do evil things!" Mugman, sensing the hostility, stepped in to play peacemaker.

"Easy Bendy, nobody said th…!"

"I can't appear in a poof of smoke and brimstone, or suck out people's souls, or even use fire like D…!"

He stopped himself. The Cup brothers already didn't trust him, if they learned his dad was none other than _The Devil himself_, they'd probably chase him off altogether. Or at least be scared of and hate him.

Just like everyone else…

"Sorry, guys. I don't have any special powers." Bendy's anger faded as he looked down, a guilty look on his face.

"Great, so we're stuck with dead weight." Cuphead mumbled, loud enough for Bendy to hear. Bendy looked off to the side, and Mugman gave him a sympathetic look.

Before any of the boys could do or say anything else, however, they heard a voice.

"Well well, you must be those cup boys!" All three boys looked up to see a blue, smiling ball of goop.

"Goopy le Grande?" Mugman asked, to which the slime lifted off the top of his head, tipping it like a hat to the boys.

"At your service! I was expecting you…a certain someone told me the Devil had sent a couple debt collectors for my soul contract!"

"Yeah, we _know_." Cuphead shot Bendy a quick glare before looking back at Goopy le Grande. "But look, we don't have to…"

Goopy didn't give Cuphead a chance to finish. He shot out as a fist to punch the boys, and they just barely managed to dodge in time.

"Don't know why I thought that would work after the Root Pack." Cuphead remarked, gritting his teeth. "Alright, fight it is, then!" He turned to his brother. "Get ready, Mugs!"

"Right!" As Bendy watched, Cuphead pulled his shorts up, while Mugman adjusted his straw to drink from his own head.

"What do I do?!" He called.

"Just stay out of the way!" Cuphead called back as he and Mugman started blasting at Goopy. The Cup Brothers were strong and fast, but it seemed Goopy had a few tricks up his sleeve. After taking a few blasts, he popped a pill into his mouth and grew bigger. Bendy's mouth fell open as he watched the now-larger Goopy jump behind Mugman, getting ready to strike him.

"Mugman, look out!"

The warning came too late, as when Mugman turned around, he got punched back. Bendy gasped in horror as Cuphead glared at Goopy.

"You're gonna pay for that!"

As Bendy watched Cuphead shoot at the slime some more, a dark thought suddenly crossed his mind, before he could stop himself.

_**K̟͈̹̭̤ͮ͑̎͗i͏̣̜l̗͚͕͛̓̽̃̒͢ͅĺ͎̾ ̈ͪ͂ͣ͊ͫ̄h͈̳̜̦̣͈̬ͣ̇͆̋̐i̗͇̳ͬ͛̓m̪̺͒ͪͩ.̹̗̞̲͛̈̃ͯ̀**_

A gasp escaped the little demon. Did…did he really just think that?

Before he could think any more about it, it seemed the universe responded to his dark thought, as, after receiving a couple more shots, a headstone suddenly fell from seemingly nowhere, crushing Goopy. Mugman responded before Bendy.

"We killed him!" Cuphead's hands fell to his side. He actually looked horrified…for all of one second, before Goopy's headstone started moving on its own, heading over to try crushing the cup brothers.

"What the?!" A hollow laugh came from the headstone.

_"Did you really think it would be _that _easy to beat me?! I'm very smashing…even in grave situations!"_

"How is this possible?!" Cuphead asked as he and Mugman kept shooting at the moving gravestone.

"It must be one of the powers he got from the Devil!" Mugman remarked, just barely avoiding getting smashed into oblivion.

Despite himself, Bendy felt his eyes widen in wonder as he looked at Goopy's animate headstone.

_Is that really something my dad can do? Give people the power to come back from the dead?_

And then, as soon as it had started…the fight stopped.

Goopy's headstone split neatly in two, one half falling on top of the other. A hollow groan came from the two pieces of headstone before they joined back together, forming into Goopy, the _original_ Goopy, before he got bigger. He let out a groan, proving that, while injured, he was still very much alive.

"My head…"

Cuphead shook his head, clearing away his confused expression before he marched over, holding out his hand.

"Alright Goopy le Grande, we beat you fair and square! Now hand over your soul contract!"

Letting out a sigh, the slime reluctantly handed his contract over.

"Well, why bother fighting anymore? I'm as good as dead anyway." The Cup Brothers looked at each other, a sympathetic look crossing both their faces. Mugman looked like he wanted to say something, but Cuphead put his hand over Mugman's raised finger, shaking his head.

"Come on." It was all he said, and Mugman obliged. Bendy, however, stuck around just long enough to hear Goopy violently coughing before following Cuphead and Mugman.

He looked down at the ground, troubled. The day Goopy le Grande came into the Casino…he was in even worse shape then than he was now. Being only five at the time, Bendy hadn't understood the conditions of his illness, or how desperate he was, but now…now he at least had a better idea of what the slime's deal with his father entailed.

What he didn't understand, however, were his dark thoughts from earlier. The little demon shook his head.

_Hey—it's probably nothing to worry about! After all, everyone thinks bad things every now and then, right?_

**A/N**: _Hoo boy...seems something's going on with Bendy! Could this be his father's influence? Or something else entirely?!  
__Yeah, I've got to be honest here-I've really come to LOVE writing Bendy the way I've been doing...this past week I've been doing a BATIM roleplay in one of my Discord groups where he ends up getting adopted by two of the former employees from Joey Drew Studios, and I've been having so much fun having him act like an excited little kid-I forgot how much I love writing/playing child characters!_

_Anyway, about Goopy-to be honest, I kind of feel bad that you actually apparently KILL HIM in the actual game, so I figured I'd have his 'death' just be temporary here. Also, I remembered another fanfic I read some time back where Sally Stageplay was shown to have some kind of illness when she went in to make her own deal with the Devil, so I had an idea that that might work for Goopy as part of his own deal in my story, especially with the aforementioned 'dying' bit. Plus, if YOU had a probably fatal illness, you'd want to be stronger too, right? Especially if you were a boxer, or some other type of fighter? _

_Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter-please review if you did! Or even if you hated it; so I can know to do better!_


	8. The Legendary Chalice

**A/N**: _Next chapter, this one from a different POV! No boss fights in this one, though we DO get to meet a certain character. Yeah, to save time, I don't plan on including every single boss fight, though I DO plan to at least mention the fights I skipped over. _

_Fallen Angel Hybrid: Aww, I'm glad you love the story! Looking forward to seeing your reaction to the rest of it!_

_AlchemyWriter: Oh, you'll see...you'll see..._

_Well, on to the story now!_

_Disclaimer: I own neither BATIM or Cuphead, they're owned by TheMeatly and Studio MDHR, neither of which I am a part of. _

Mugman was beyond confused.

Yes, he'd been the one to tell Cuphead that Bendy wasn't evil, and insist that they give him a chance…but if he was completely honest with himself, the thought still blew his mind.

Mugman remembered the stories he and Cuphead had been told in Sunday School…don't lie, steal, etc., be kind to others, and, of course, the Devil was bad, and demons, being his minions, of course were, too.

Bendy was a lot of things, but evil _definitely_ wasn't one of them. Or at least, he didn't SEEM evil…

Mugman frowned a little as he looked at the little demon. His whole life, he'd been willing to give people a chance no matter what—Cuphead used to say that it would get him killed one day.

He just hoped he wasn't making a mistake trusting Bendy…

"Hey, check it out!" Cuphead said, breaking the silence. Mugman followed the direction of his finger, eyes widening as he saw where his twin was pointing.

"I…is that a…?!"

"A mausoleum!" Cuphead confirmed. "What's say we take a quick peek inside before going to our next debtors?"

"I dunno…we should probably just go on to Ribby and Croaks…"

"No!" Bendy suddenly piped up, causing Mugman to nearly jump out of his skin. Both Cup Brothers turned to look at Bendy as one, and a nervous look crossed the demon's face. "Um uh…well…" Bendy rubbed the back of his head nervously, and Mugman couldn't help but notice the sweat starting to bead his face. _Black_ sweat.

Was he…sweating _**ink**_?

"It…it sounds like someone needs help in there!" Cuphead opened his mouth, probably to snap at Bendy again, but at that moment, Mugman heard a faint cry of

"_Help!_"

Mugman's eyes widened. There was actually someone in the mausoleum? All three boys ran inside without a word, and saw a single urn sitting on the stone table in front of them. The urn shook as if whatever was inside was trying to get out, a faint glow emanating from it.

"Hold on! We'll get you out!" Mugman announced, starting forward to let the being inside out, only to be stopped by Cuphead grabbing his arm, pulling him back.

"Wait, Mugs!"

"What are…?!" Mugman started, only to stop as he saw the ghosts starting to float out of the wall. Small, pink ghosts…they looked harmless enough, but there were a lot of them.

"Take _this_!" Cuphead shot a finger blast at one, but, of course, it just went right through the ghost harmlessly. Mugman could hear his brother swearing under his breath as more ghosts started to float in.

"What do we do?!" Mugman asked, hating the whine in his voice.

"Go away!" He heard Bendy's voice as he pathetically tried to shoo the ghosts away. Of course, the ghosts didn't do anything but laugh, and the little demon gritted his teeth.

"I said…_scram_!" And then, as the Cup Brothers watched, he jumped up—right onto a ghost's head in a parry…and the ghost disappeared.

Mugman blinked in realization.

"We have to parry off them?"

"Hey, whatever works!" Cuphead said before parrying off onto another ghost, which likewise faded. Mugman joined soon after him, allowing himself to fly forward, parrying off the ghost in front of him.

Pretty soon, all three boys were parrying every ghost that floated in…Mugman lost count of how many there were…a dozen? Two dozen? Either way, the parries did the trick, and before long, all the ghosts were gone. As Cuphead cheered triumphantly, Mugman turned to look at Bendy, a big smile on his face.

"Nice thinking, Bendy! You really helped us out!" A small, shy smile crossed the demon's features.

"Aw, it was no big deal!"

"Least he actually _did _something this time." Cuphead remarked. The top of the urn popped off, and as all three boys watched, an orb floated out of it before turning into the figure of a chalice-headed spirit.

"_Gosh, I don't know how to thank you boys for saving me!"_ The spectral lady started, before letting out a giggle. _"Where are my manners?! I didn't even introduce myself! I am the Legendary Chalice! Pleased to meet…!"_ Her eyes then fell on Bendy, and a gasp escaped her. _"A __**demon**__!" _

Bendy looked down at the ground sheepishly, and Mugman quickly jumped to his defense.

"No, it's okay! Bendy's a **good** demon! He helped get you out!"

"_A 'good' demon?!"_ The Legendary Chalice's tone sounded somewhere between disbelieving and condescending, and this time Cuphead was the one to chime in.

"So um…Ms. Chalice, how'd you get stuck in that urn, anyway?"

The Legendary Chalice turned to him, going back to telling her story.

"_I was searching for magic and got trapped by those ghosts! Speaking of magic…" _A bright smile crossed her face. _"Please accept this gift, it should help!"_ She pulled a potion out, pouring it into either of the Cup Brothers' heads.

Mugman gasped as he felt this new power surging through him, and next to him, Cuphead looked like he was seconds away from hyperventilating.

"Wow…what's this?!"

"_Now you can fire energy beams from your heads!"_ The Legendary Chalice answered.

"Gee, that's swell!" Bendy said, looking between Cuphead and Mugman. "Say um uh…you don't have anything else, do you?"

"_Sorry, no!"_

The Chalice's tone didn't _sound_ very sorry, Mugman couldn't help but notice. A thoughtful look crossed the Legendary Chalice's face as she mused

"_There are other Mausoleums around Inkwell Isle…I just wonder…"_ And with that, she was gone.

"I just…I just wanted to help…" Mugman heard Bendy say, and he couldn't help but give him a sympathetic look.

"Hey, Cup?" He started. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." A sour look crossed Cuphead's face, but he didn't argue.

"Well, alright. Just don't take _too_ long!" He walked outside, and Mugman walked over to Bendy. Before he could even open his mouth, Bendy blurted out

"I'm _not_ evil."

"Huh?" Mugman asked, confused.

"I'm _**not**_ evil." Bendy repeated, louder, and Mugman couldn't help but notice the frustrated look that crossed his face. "Just because I'm a demon, no one ever wants to be around me! Everyone's always ready to believe the worst about me!"

"Bendy…" Mugman started.

"It's not like I _asked_ to be a demon, y'know! It's not **fair**!"

"Bendy!" Mugman put his hand on his shoulder to calm him down, and Bendy allowed himself to relax. He didn't look at Mugman, though. Mugman took this as a sign to continue.

"It's okay. I don't think you're evil."

Bendy finally looked at Mugman, a surprised expression on his face.

"Really?"

"Really!" Mugman assured him, giving him a friendly smile. "You're kind of misguided, but I know you didn't get us into any of this on purpose! I mean…" He stopped, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "The Devil probably put you up to it, right?"

"Well uh…yeah." Bendy looked off to the side, and Mugman was surprised to see a nervous look crossing the little demon's own face. "Hey um, Mugman? Can you keep a secret?" Mugman's eyes widened, a little surprised.

"Yeah, sure Bendy. What is it?"

"Well um…" Bendy bit his lip, looking like he was debating his next words. "The thing is…the Devil is…"

"MUGS!" Cuphead's voice called from outside. "You coming, or not?!" Mugman nearly jumped out of his skin, and Bendy started off, a bit too quick.

"We can talk later, okay?" Mugman offered, giving the demon a kind smile.

"Uh…sure. Okay." He didn't exactly sound thrilled about it, and Mugman gave him a quick, concerned look before walking to rejoin his brother.

Something was bothering Bendy. He wasn't sure what it was, but whatever it was, he hoped he could help him once this whole thing was over.

If they were still alive after this.

**A/N**: _I figured getting Mugman's perspective on all this would be a nice change of pace. He's so overlooked..._

_Not a lot happened here, but I still had fun writing this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed reading it! If you did, please review? Please?_


	9. Exchanging Stories

**A/N**: _Well, here it is, the next chapter of this story! Sorry the last chapter was so short, I certainly hope this one will make up for it! Not a WHOLE lot of action, but there are some sweet bonding moments between the boys, so yeah. There's that. _

_AlchemyWriter: Well, glad you liked the last chapter anyway, despite the shortness! I am certainly going to try to make the next few chapters longer!_

_Fallen Angel Hybrid: Heh, yeah. Mugman doesn't get nearly enough attention; I figured it would be good to try and see things from his perspective for once. _

_Well, enough of that, on to the next chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I don't have the patience to have worked on a game like Cuphead, so I can't claim to own it. And if I owned Bendy...well, let's just say some things would've been different. _

"…really something, don't you think?"

"Hmm?" The brown-haired man looked up from his drawing, realizing that the other man had been talking to him.

"Those cup boys going off to do the Devil's dirty work for him." The man's companion repeated, shaking his head. "Y'know, I've seen them around sometimes…they seemed like good kids. Who would've thought they'd turn out this way?"

"Well, you know they didn't have a choice, right?" The brunette asked, holding his pencil in-between two fingers. "It was collect the soul contracts or lose their own souls."

"Well, I suppose you've got a point there." The other male shrugged. "Anyway, I heard the Devil's kid, what's his name…?" He snapped his fingers together, trying to remember.

"Bendy." The brunette answered.

"Right, that's the one." The other man answered. "Well, they say he tempted them to go into the casino in the first place. I wouldn't be surprised, honestly." He shook his head, running a hand through his blond hair. "He _is_ a demon, after all. Plus, there's something in that smile I just don't trust…"

"You're _way_ too suspicious, Sam." The brunette said, shaking his head. "He may be a demon, but he's also a _kid_. How much harm could he do?"

* * *

"LOOK OUT!"

Mugman just barely had time to move before their next debtor zapped his plane with the UFOs she had summoned from seemingly nowhere. Cuphead whipped around to make sure his brother was okay before turning back around to glare at Hilda Berg.

Having to learn to fly planes to fight her was one thing. Her turning into a blimp was another thing, though it at least explained the planes.

But turning into the MOON itself?!

"I don't feel so good…" Bendy moaned from behind Cuphead. He _did_ look a little green, and Cuphead snapped;

"If you throw up on me, you're going to have to learn to fly!" Cuphead had (reluctantly) agreed to let the little demon join him in his plane, as at least then he could help shoot at Hilda. Bendy swallowed down his nausea and tried to look serious, aiming at the sneering moon. He took the shot…and _that_ was the one they needed. A pained look crossed Hilda's face before, in a poof of smoke, she turned back into her more human-looking form from before. She was able to descend safely to the ground, and the Cup Brothers and Bendy landed safely, the brothers going over to collect Hilda's soul contract.

T̨̫̂ͭ̓̉_**a̸̺̻̩̤̦̭ͨ̔ͪ̌ͧk͚ͅe̶̥͔̯̣̒̅̓̏ ͉̥̬̺̗͍͒ͥ̌̀͞ḩ̾̈eͥ̀r̻ͦ̍̂͋ͣ̏̍ ̠̗̲͚̃ͤ͐̋̊̄̚ș͔͖̰̟̫̖̌ơ̥̗͇̫̏̒̃͂̀ͬù̗̺̼͉̼̭̫͊̑̏͒ͨ͐͝l̹͛̍ͩ͑ͥͨ̔.̵͍ͬ̊̑͗̔͆ Dͤͣ̂ͯ҉̝̺̟̩̤Ô̷͖̫ͦ̊̇ ̰ͪ́̓I͔̭ͤ͡T͓̜̩̏̄́ͭ̒̾̓!̶̫**_

Bendy shook his head, screwing up his face as if pain. By the time Bendy opened his eyes, Cuphead and Mugman were coming back over, Cuphead clutching Hilda's soul contract in his hand.

"You doing okay there?" Cuphead asked, looking over at Bendy. "Not still sick?"

"Nah, I'm okay!" Bendy answered, smiling.

"Well, come on!" Cuphead waved, and Mugman groaned a little.

"Can we take a break? My legs feel like jelly…"

"Well, alright, but not too long. We've still got a lot of other fights ahead of us."

"Don't remind me." Bendy could hear Cuphead mumbling as they walked into the forest, sitting down on a log to catch their breath. Once they were seated, Mugman reached into the pocket of his pants, pulling out some kind of food bar to give to Cuphead. The elder twin grunted his thanks as Bendy looked on curiously.

"What's that?"

"Never seen a candy bar before?" Cuphead asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh…no?" Bendy answered. Cuphead, who had started to unwrap his bar and take a bite, looked over at him incredulously.

"Seriously?" Bendy shook his head.

"The Devil doesn't allow me to eat candy." He said matter-of-factly. He very nearly said 'Dad', but managed to mentally correct himself before the word left his mouth.

"What's he like?" Mugman asked suddenly. "The Devil? I mean…you're one of his demons, right? So what's it like working for him?"

"Seriously, Mugs?" Cuphead raised an eyebrow. "We _met_ the guy. He's a big, fat jerk who has no problem sending kids to do his dirty work!"

"…he wasn't always that way." Both Cup Brothers looked over at Bendy, who was looking down at the ground, his expression unreadable. "He used to be…I thought he was really nice. He always treated me well—until I think about a year ago?" He let out a heavy sigh, trying not to look too sad as memories washed over him. "He tried to get me to do bad things, be a 'real' demon. But I guess…I guess it just doesn't come naturally to me. I'm no good at being _bad_." Bendy looked off to the side. "He never said anything…but I could tell he was disappointed. Part of me doesn't blame him…I mean, I'm a demon; I'm 'supposed' to be bad, right? Maybe there's just something wrong with me."

For a moment, neither brother said anything. One could almost hear a pin drop in the silence.

Finally, to Bendy's and Mugman's surprise, Cuphead spoke first.

"Well, I don't see how that's a bad thing." When he caught the other two looking at him, Cuphead shrugged nonchalantly. "Look, I don't know what being a 'real' demon means, and I gotta be honest—I don't care. I know I'm no saint, but even _I_ know you shouldn't go around hurting people for no good reason, or torturing them, or poking them with pitchforks in hell all day, or whatever it means to be a 'real' demon. Frankly, I think you're better off this way. Sure, maybe you ARE a lousy demon. Just means you're a good person." Cuphead took a bite of his candy bar, and a small, hopeful smile crossed Bendy's face.

"So you _do_ think I'm good?!"

Cuphead finally realized what he said, and his eyes widened.

"Well um…I mean…"

Mugman put a hand over his mouth to silence his laughter before passing another candy bar over to Bendy.

"Here. I had an extra."

"Thanks." Bendy said, smiling from Cuphead to him as the boys heard mumbling. They looked up, seeing someone approach. An ax-headed man with a chip in his head. He scowled as soon as he saw them.

"What are _you_ looking at?! My chip?!"

"Uh, no!" Mugman quickly protested, holding his hands up defensively. The ax man just let out a bitter laugh, putting his hands on his hips.

"It's not my fault! I've been busy fightin' off those casino debtors! Now I've gotta save up to have my blade fixed!" He gritted his teeth, looking off the side. "So help me, I wish someone would bust that King Dice one!"

And like that, Mugman's demeanor changed completely. Putting his own candy bar aside, he jumped off the log, glaring at the man.

"Hey, don't talk about him like that! It's not _his_ fault—he's just doing his job!"

"Mugs!" Cuphead exclaimed, and the man just sneered.

"Oh yeah? And what do _you_ know about him, kid?!" He challenged. Mugman started to open his mouth to answer, but stopped right away.

What _did_ he know about King Dice?

"Yeah, that's what I thought." The ax man shook his head. "Don't know why you care about the Devil's right-hand man, but let me tell you something—he didn't get the title for nothing." He walked off, and Mugman sank back onto the log, defeated.

Bendy looked at the brothers curiously.

"You…you guys really care a lot about King Dice, huh?"

"Well, I mean, he _did_ raise us." Mugman looked off to the side. "We never knew what happened to our parents—we don't know if they're still out there, or…" He stopped himself, shaking his head. "Point is, he's the only guardian we've ever known." A small, sad smile crossed Mugman's face. "He likes to act like he doesn't care, that he's only looking after us for our parents…but I know, in his own way, he does. Why would he have kept us this long if he didn't, after all?"

Bendy leaned back a little, looking up at the sky. He thought about all the times he'd seen King Dice throughout his life. As shady as the dice-headed man could be sometimes, Bendy had seen a softer side to him sometimes.

Only two years before, when one of his father's debtors…what was his name? The genie who wanted to be free. After he had gone in and spoken to his dad, Bendy had seen Dice take him out back for a talk. The genie looked sad, and Bendy heard snatches of his conversation with Dice…stuff about being trapped in a lamp, being a slave to the wishes of whoever happened to find his lamp and release him. The little demon was surprised to actually see a look of sympathy on King Dice's face. To this day, he didn't know what Dice said to the genie, but he did see him put a comforting hand on his shoulder and say something that made him look just a little happier.

"Well, I think that's enough lollygagging." Cuphead said, sticking his candy bar wrapper in his pocket and brushing his hands off. "Come on guys."

**A/N**: _Well, now we know a little more about Bendy's and the Cup Brothers' relationships with their respective guardians. In case it's not obvious, I like having Mugman being the brother who cares for/trusts King Dice more, while Cuphead still isn't quite sure how to feel about him. Sorry I kind of skipped past the Hilda Berg fight, I kind of wanted to move the story along. Ironic thing is, she's actually one of, if not my favorite, boss. _

_And yeah-there's DEFINITELY something going on with Bendy...and things are going to go south for the boys pretty soon. Not in the next chapter, but soon. Well, that's all for now, please leave a review if you liked the chapter; or even if you hated it, to let me know what I should improve on!_


	10. On to Isle 2!

**A/N**: _Heya. Sorry this chapter was a while...life (by which I mean mostly work) happened. I can't promise how soon the next chapter after this will be; like I mentioned, life happens. Plus, while I DO technically have the next chapter prewritten, I'm not sure how much I like it. I'll likely end up changing a LOT, if rewriting the whole thing, before I post it. _

_But until then, I hope you guys like this chapter okay. _

_Guest (Amateur Critic): It's true (BTW, thanks for being the ONLY person to review on the last chapter -_- UGH...) Anyway, aw shucks, glad you like the way I write Bendy! Don't worry, the next chapter after this focuses more on Cuphead, and his thoughts towards this whole thing. I know right now the story is going pretty slowly (not to mention being mostly centered around Bendy, heh...), I DO have **big** plans for later on in the story...the trick is getting there, heh. As I mentioned in earlier chapters, I'm going to skip through some (if not most of) the battles to speed the story along as best as I can. As for your theories...well, you're just going to have to wait and see! ;) Thanks again for all your kind words, and I hope you like this chapter, and the rest of the story! _

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bendy and the Ink Machine, Cuphead, or any of the characters within. I do, however, have like a million characters of my own to play with, so it's okay. _

King Dice wasn't in the best of shape when he saw the Cup Brothers (plus Bendy) next. Though he wasn't physically hurt, he still felt a tremor or two go through his soul as the boys entered the Die House. He could almost see the Devil standing there, his _own_ soul contract in his grasp.

There was no hope for him, no turning back. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't leave the Devil's service. And if he had to be honest, with everything he'd done…he didn't think he _deserved_ to be saved. Deserved redemption...

He plastered a relieved smile on his face, seeing that the boys were safe and (relatively) unharmed.

"Well, ain't that a pip! Looks like you really put the kibosh on them debtors!"

"Yeah, but it wasn't easy." Cuphead grinned sheepishly.

"We had some help from Bendy, though!" Mugman said, indicating to the demon.

"Emphasis on 'some'." Cuphead mumbled, as King Dice narrowed his eyes at the demon.

"That's…really somethin'. Well, you boys can head on over to the next island! I'll see you there!" Bendy started to follow Cuphead and Mugman as they crossed over, but King Dice grabbed his arm, stopping the demon in his tracks.

"_Not_ you. Not just yet, anyway."

"King Dice?!" Mugman looked at him in alarm, and King Dice turned to look at him and his brother, putting on a practiced fake smile.

"Just a moment—I just need to have a few words with this…boy. You two just head on ahead…and be careful." Cuphead and Mugman both gave him a weird look, but went on ahead to Inkwell Isle 2 anyway. Once the boys were gone, King Dice's smile faded as he gave Bendy a hard glare.

"Just what're you up to, anyway?! Tryin' to sabotage those boys?!"

"No, I'm not!" Bendy held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, but King Dice wasn't buying it.

"Did your daddy put you up to this?!"

"No! Well, I mean, he _did_ suggest I tell the debtors, but it was…!"

"I knew it." King Dice narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm no saint, but Cup and Mugs...those boys are good kids. The last thing they need is the devil's brat sendin' them down the wrong path, _especially_ when their lives are already on the line."

"I…" Bendy let out a frustrated sigh, actually glaring back at the die-headed man. "I'm just trying to help, okay?! I didn't want any of this—I didn't want them to work for my dad…all I ever wanted was to have friends!"

"Bendy?" Mugman's voice could be heard calling.

"Coming!" Bendy called back. King Dice leaned in closer, hissing out a warning to the little demon.

"If Cuphead and Mugman end up getting killed because of you…because of something **you** did, there'll be _**hell**_ to pay." Bendy gulped before following the cup brothers, looking off to the side. His nervousness didn't go unnoticed by Cuphead, who gave him a weird look.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah…I'm fine!" Bendy lied, pasting a smile onto his face. "Just fine!" Cuphead didn't buy it for a second, but he decided not to press further.

"Well…let's get going, then."

King Dice watched the three of them head off, letting out a sigh. Despite their situation, those boys were still so innocent, so…pure.

Like he had been, once…

* * *

_Eleven-year-old Dice looked between his parents, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes. _

_It had finally happened. His mom and dad had finally gotten too bold, TOO ambitious, and bet against the Devil himself…and lost. _

_A thoughtful look crossed the Devil's face as he looked from the scared, confused young boy to his sniveling parents, something akin to disgust actually visible in his features. _

"_**I had thought you were joking—you'd actually trade your only son to repay your debt to me?"**_

_Dice's mother didn't even hesitate. _

"_Yes, take him! Take him and do what you want with him!" _

_And like that, Dice no longer tried to fight back his tears. _

"_Mom…!" _

"_Don't argue with your mother!" Dice's father snapped, grabbing his upper arm and whipping him back around to look at his new 'master', who gave the adults a hard look. _

"_**Your lives are marked by vice—greed, deceit, blackmail, embezzlement. You know nothing of compassion or love for others; all you know is cheating, conning others out of their goods. And you think trading one boy will somehow excuse, or make up for, your past sins?" **__And then…a smile crossed his face. __**"I have to admit, you two have impressed me!" **__In a burst of flame, a roll of paper appeared in his hand…a soul contract. __**"Just sign for the boy, and all will be forgiven!" **_

"_Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say!" Dice's father hurried forward, grabbing the quill he was offered. "The kid wasn't good for anything anyway…all he ever did was ask for 'food', or 'clothes', or 'a bed to sleep in'! Pain in the ass…" _

_And so, little Dice was forced to watch as his father signed his life, if not his __**soul**__, away to the Devil. He didn't care about him. Neither of his parents had; Dice knew it. He'd known it his whole life. But actually selling him to pay off their debts?!_

"_Done!" Dice's father announced with glee. _

"_Dad!" Dice started to run over to him and his mother, but the Devil grabbed his shoulder, holding him back. _

"_**You're not going ANYWHERE, little man!" **__He leaned in closer, so Dice could smell his rotten breath as he hissed __**"You belong to ME now."**_

"_Now Dicey, you listen to your new master!" His mother called as she ran off, both his parents disappearing from Dice's view, and life, forever. _

"_**Now then;" **__The Devil started, __**"Let's get you settled…"**_

* * *

Back in the present, King Dice let out a sigh, shaking his head before disappearing through a hole in the ground.

It was too late for him, but maybe…MAYBE, Cuphead and Mugman could save themselves.

So long as that little demon didn't send them down the wrong path…

* * *

Mugman looked over the list of Isle 2 debtors as Cuphead turned to Bendy, giving him a suspicious look.

"So, you're _sure_ you didn't talk to any of the debtors here?"

"Positive!" Bendy held up his hands. "I never even reached Inkwell Isle 2…_or_ 3!" He looked from them to all the contracts they already had. "Golly, you guys sure are strong!"

"Got that right!" Cuphead said smugly, puffing his chest out. "Who knows—at this rate, we might even be a match for the Devil himself!"

"Heh…yeah…" Bendy looked off to the side nervously, hoping the brothers didn't notice how nervous he was. "Say…what are you planning to do with those contracts, anyway? Are you really gonna hand them over to the Devil?"

"Heck no!" Cuphead scowled. "Why should we give that bastard what he wants?!"

"We already came up with a plan before…before you came around." Mugman started, looking somewhat sheepish. "Once we get everyone's contracts, we're going to destroy them. Free everyone from the Devil...forever!"

"Oh, is that a fact?" All three boys' heads shot up at once to face the person before them. The man appeared to be a blue-and-red clown with a long nose and black top hat. Mugman recognized him right away—the next debtor, Beppi the Clown.

"Um…"

"Sorry boys, I couldn't help but overhear!" The clown held up his hands, a smile still on his face. "I also heard about what happened at the casino…then again, who hasn't?!" His smile dropped slightly. "Shame; the Devil using _children_ to do his dirty work." He shook his head, and Cuphead gave him a confused look.

"So um…are you going to give us your contract? Or…?"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Beppi presented his contract with a flourish, putting it right into the cup's hands.

"There are just two things I ask in return! One…" He gave the boys a serious look. "I want you to keep your word, and destroy these contracts once your little adventure is over. I don't much fancy the idea of spending the rest of my life in servitude to that pitchfork-carrying tyrant."

"Okay, okay!" Cuphead nodded, starting to sweat.

"We promise!" Mugman agreed.

"Second…" Beppi's expression softened, and the trio was surprised to see a blush starting to cross his face. "There should be someone else on the Devil's list…a Baroness von Bon Bon. You should be running across her later on. When you do, I want you to show her the same courtesy that you did me." He let out a sigh. "If it were possible, I would take on both our debts myself, but…"

He didn't need to say any more. It was pretty obvious that Beppi had a thing for the Baroness.

"Okay…we promise." Mugman said earnestly.

"Excellent!" Beppi nodded, a big, hopeful smile crossing his face. "Well, you boys best be on your way!"

As they walked off again, Cuphead couldn't help but notice one of the clown's balloon dogs growling at Bendy, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

_Is it just 'cause he's a demon? Or is there something else going on here…King Dice stopped him before we came here. What's going on with that kid, anyway? __What's he hiding?_

**A/N**: _There you have it-we saw the full story of how Dice got into the Devil's service! Also, Cuphead and Mugman's plan is revealed-yep, I plan to go for the good ending, and have them save everyone. _

_And I mean EVERYONE. _

_And yeah...I'm something of a Beppi/Baroness shipper. Way back when, I read a fanfic where another character (not saying who), willingly gave the Cup Brothers their soul contract for Beppi, I figured I'd do something similar here. _

_Anyway, hope you guys liked this chapter-oh, and since my birthday's in two days, think you could humor me by leaving some reviews? It would be a really great birthday gift!_


	11. Secrets Revealed

**A/N**: _Hey guys. Sorry this one took a while...life has been keeping me busy. Namely, trying to find another (full-time) job and, hopefully, earn enough money to rent an apartment and get away from the people who are hosting me. They're nice enough, but they're an older couple...and quite conservative, shall we say..._

_Also, there was my birthday on May 21st. We spent the night before with a friend of theirs, I got to go to the St. Louis Zoo, and when we came back the day after, we stopped for lunch at Cheddar's, and I even got a nice big slice of chocolate cake. So not too bad...in spite of the fact that I'm older now. Yay. _

_Oh, and we had a tornado scare the night after. We weren't hit, and even if the tornado HAD ended up coming our way, my room is in the basement, so I would've been safe either way, but still pretty scary. Finally, I finally ended up caving and creating a new RP blog on Tumblr last night. I plan to roleplay BATIM and FNAF (yes, the FNAF VR dragged me back into the fandom X'D) right now, and I may add other characters/fandoms somewhere down the line, but for now, I'm **only** going to be roleplaying on the weekends. _

_So yeah...there's been a lot going on. Anyway, that's enough of that-this chapter...I don't quite know how to feel about it. I edited it as best as I could, so yeah...hope it's okay. _

_Guest: Glad you liked Dice's background! To answer your question, the Devil has King Dice on a pretty tight leash right now; so there's not a whole lot he can do. He WILL reach his breaking point though, you can count on that. _

_Valeriyah: Well, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and characters, especially since you're not much of a Cuphead fan! Guess that means I'm doing something right!_

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own BATIM or Cuphead...if anything, they (mostly BATIM) own ME :')_

The Devil looked down at the portrait, an uncharacteristically sad look on his face.

It had been years since he'd seen his wife…well, ex-wife now, he supposed. Truthfully, he didn't know what had attracted him to Charlotte in the first place—for starters, she wasn't even a demoness, she was human; and on top of that, one of the most sickeningly sweet humans imaginable.

Maybe, part of him thought, that was what attracted him to her in the first place. He wanted the challenge, to see if he could corrupt her, send her down the wrong path. Ultimately, though, his efforts proved fruitless—not only did she never give into temptation, even the fact that he was _**the Devil**_ didn't faze her; once he revealed who and what he really was, Charlotte made it her mission to try and 'redeem' him. And, as much as he hated to admit it…he loved it. He loved _her_.

Which was why he had made sure to keep the casino secret from her both before and after they married. He didn't do a good enough job, as it turned out, and once Charlotte found out that he was coercing people to bet and gamble their souls away…_and_ that he was going to groom their son to do the same as he grew up, she packed her bags and left.

The Devil's eyes went from the image of Charlotte in the picture to the squealing infant Bendy in her arms. He looked so tiny, so…innocent. The Devil had long suspected that it was because of his mother that Bendy didn't act like a 'real' demon…technically, he _wasn't _one; he was half-human due to Charlotte's DNA. And what was more, he seemed to have inherited his mother's pure heart and kind nature.

_**Sickening.**_

But maybe, _maybe_ not hopeless…Bendy did still have demon blood after all, which meant that he had a demonic nature. He just had to keep pushing until it came out…and the Devil would see to it that it did.

"_**Soon, my son."**_ He traced a claw over the infant Bendy in the picture, before setting it down and turning a little in his seat. _**"Soon**_._**"**_

* * *

"Well, _that_ was intense." Cuphead grumbled, rubbing his sore arm. The boys didn't have to go far to meet the Baroness…but she was more…_unhinged_ than they had expected. She didn't believe them when they told her their plan, and the boys had ended up having to fight her after all.

"I'm never eating candy again…" Mugman moaned. Bendy looked between the brothers, concerned.

"Gee, you guys don't look so hot!" Suddenly, an idea came to him, and he snapped his fingers together. "I think there's a shop around here—wait right here, I'll see if I can find something to help you!" The little demon hurried off, and Cuphead watched around to make sure he was out of sight and earshot before turning to his brother.

"Mugs, we need to ditch him."

"Huh? Why?!" Mugman asked, alarmed. "I thought you liked him!"

"I…" Cuphead started, then let out a sigh. "Look, he's not really much help; yeah, he's been able to do a few stuff _sometimes_, but most of the time? He's nothing but dead weight. And aside from that…" He leaned in closer, a serious expression on his face. "There's just something…_off_ about him. King Dice acted weird around him, and did you see what that balloon dog did back when we were talking to Beppi?"

"Well, I mean, he's a demon." Mugman pointed out. "I'm sure there are a lot of…"

"It's more than that." Cuphead interrupted. "There's something about him that just feels wrong to me…if he keeps tagging along with us, I get the feeling that, one way or another, things are going to go wrong."

Suddenly, the brothers' thoughts were interrupted by the sound of

"_Help! Help!_" Both Cuphead's and Mugman's heads shot up as one…suddenly realizing they were next to a mausoleum.

"You don't think…?" Mugman asked. Cuphead scowled as Bendy returned with some healing potions.

"Ugh, _again_?!"

"Hey, is that that chalice lady?" Bendy asked, voicing both brothers' opinions. Cuphead didn't answer, grabbing one of the potions and starting to drink it, feeling his wounds healing.

At least Bendy could actually help this time. Though he still wasn't sure how much he wanted him along…

The boys ran inside, once again forced to parry off all the ghosts that were menacing the Legendary Chalice, who was indeed trapped in an urn again. Once all the ghosts were gone, the spirit revealed herself again, giving the boys a grateful smile.

"_I knew if I rooted around here, I could find something special for you!_" She beamed. "_But I didn't know I'd get trapped again!_" She looked off to the side awkwardly, and Cuphead crossed his arms.

"How's about you just stay away from mausoleums, huh?"

"Cuphead!" Mugman exclaimed, but the spirit either didn't hear what the elder twin had said, or pretended not to, because she just turned back with a smile.

"_Thanks for saving me a second time. Take this magical super art, and I'll see if I can find another._" She presented Cuphead and Mugman with the gift, and, Cuphead noticed, she once again didn't have anything for Bendy. The boys started out, Mugman leading the way, and Cuphead noticed the Legendary Chalice floating over to Bendy. He ducked behind a pillar to listen as she whispered to Bendy, who stopped in his tracks.

"_Are you really going to keep following them? How long do you think it will take before they find out who…and WHAT, you really are?!_" Bendy let out a sigh, probably sick of getting pulled aside and accused at this point.

"Look, I'm not planning anything, if that's what you're thinking. They're my friends, and I just…"

The Legendary Chalice cut him off with a snort that might have been laughter.

"'_Friends'? I know what you demons are like—you aren't interested in friendship! You're just trying to tempt them to do bad!_" She leaned a little closer, and Cuphead did as well. The Legendary Chalice's next words were quiet, but Cuphead managed to hear them anyway as he leaned in.

"_Even if you __**were**__ all friends, how much longer do you think it will last once they find out that you're the son of the Devil?!_"

Bendy gasped, and he wasn't the only one. Cuphead put a hand over his chest, feeling his heart pounding as the words replayed in his head, sinking in.

The Devil's son.

All this time, he and Mugman had been traveling with the _son of the Devil_.

He didn't even notice he'd gone outside until he ran into Mugman, whose expression quickly went from annoyed to concerned as he saw the shell-shocked expression that must've been on his face.

"Cuphead? What's wrong?" Cuphead swallowed down his apprehension, trying to give Mugman the most serious face he could.

"I was right about Bendy, Mugman! He's…!"

"I'm what?" Bendy asked, coming behind the Cup brothers. Cuphead started a little, swearing internally. What should he do now?! As much as he was tempted to scream out what he had heard, he didn't really have any proof. All the same, he didn't want this DEMON to try doing anything to Mugman…

"Um…" It was all Cuphead could say, and both Bendy and Mugman gave him a confused look.

"…well, we should probably get going." Bendy finally said after a while. He led the way for once, and Mugman followed, with Cuphead eventually following, eyes trained on Bendy.

_Better watch your back, Bendy._ He thought, gritting his teeth. _Because if I catch you doing ANYTHING to slow us down…or hurting Mugman…I'm going to __**kill**__ you._

**A/N**: _Yep...things are going to boil over really soon...just you guys wait and see. What will happen now? Will the Devil succeed in his attempts to corrupt Bendy? What will Cuphead do with this new information? Stick around to find out, and as always, review!_


	12. A Member Leaves the Party

**Disclaimer**: _I own nothing..._

"DADDY!" Wally Warbles' son cried as Cuphead, Mugman, and Bendy shot missiles at him. As they watched, the older bird returned…sans feathers, being carried on a stretcher.

"No way!" Mugman said. "He's still going?!" Wally Warbles leered at them, a very smug look on his face despite all his injuries.

"You'd be surprised what a father will go through when his kids are in trouble." He gave all three of them a cold glare. "And I'm going to show you what happens when you make Junior cry." As the Cup Brothers and Bendy watched, he hit his chest, causing his heart to fly out, spitting bullets at them. Cuphead just barely managed to swerve his plane out of the way to avoid the bullets, as well as the pill one of Wally's bird medics spat at them. Mugman, who was flying next to Cuphead and Bendy, gave them a troubled look.

"I don't feel good about this guys. Just look at him! He's barely going!" Cuphead looked from his brother to Wally, an equally troubled look crossing his face.

"Yeah…you're right. I don't want to end up _killing_ the guy."

"Cuphead?" Bendy asked. Cuphead ignored him, flying a little closer to Wally, while still taking care to avoid the bullets that were being fired at him.

"Hey, Birdbrain! You're going to kill yourself if you keep going! Just give us your soul contract and…"

This time, Cuphead didn't get a chance to avoid the bullets that were being shot at him, yelling out as one of the engines was shot.

"Do you think I was born last night?! I'm not giving up my soul to the Devil's henchmen!"

"We're _not_…!" Mugman started, but Wally cut him off.

"I'm not leaving my son behind! No matter what it takes, I'm going to keep going, so I can take care of him!" All three boys were quiet at that.

Despite himself, Cuphead couldn't help but think of King Dice. He acted aloof most of the time, acted like he didn't care, but he did a LOT to take care of him and Mugman.

Like when Cuphead had scraped his knee when he was seven. He'd never forget the look on Dice's face when he saw that Cuphead had hurt himself. Of course, later he'd deny actually caring, but he'd cleaned up the injury, put on disinfectant, put on a band-aid, then took Cuphead out for ice cream, all to make him feel better.

Then there was the night he was scared to go to sleep because he heard a scary noise in his closet. King Dice had actually gone through the trouble of checking his closet, and when Cuphead had woken up, he found the bedroom door open a crack, the hall light on.

Heck, even now, King Dice was helping the brothers on this quest, despite being at the mercy of _The Devil himself. _

Dice was no saint, but he was the closest thing the Cup Brothers had to a father. He'd do anything for them, the same way Wally was fighting them for his son.

Bendy, meanwhile, felt the darkness from before start to spread inside him again.

He looked from Wally Junior to the larger, featherless bird, who, by now, was literally spewing garbage at them. Before he could stop himself, a memory came to him.

* * *

"_Daddy, look! Look!" The Devil looked over his papers at a five-year-old Bendy, who held up a drawing he did of the two of them. "Do you like it?" He asked hopefully, his tail wagging excitedly. The Devil put a big, VERY forced smile on his face as he answered_

"_**Yes—it's great. Thank you, son."**_

"_You're welcome, Daddy!" Bendy ran over, hugging the Devil's arm before skipping off. Not long had he left, however, than he remembered something. "Oh! I should give Daddy the other drawing I did, too!" He turned around and started to head back into the Devil's office…only to see him burning the drawing with the flames from his hand. _

_A gasp escaped Bendy, his little heart breaking into pieces. That was it. That was the moment he knew his father didn't care for him…not the way he was. As far as he was concerned, he was a lost cause. A disappointment of a demon._

* * *

Bendy returned to the present sharply, gritting his teeth.

_**Why? Why do others get to have fathers…or even father FIGURES, who love them?! It's not FAIR! **_

The next thing he knew, Cuphead was yelling at him.

"Bendy! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Huh?" Bendy blinked a couple times…and realized that he was half out of his seat in the plane. His hands were on either side of the plane…had he _really_ been trying to climb out of the plane?! Bendy sank back down into his seat, just barely hearing Mugman announce that they'd won.

Okay, he couldn't ignore this anymore. Something was **definitely **up with him…and it scared him.

_What's happening to me?!_

Cuphead shot him a meaningful glare as they landed, and he and Mugman went to collect Wally's soul contract. Miraculously, despite his condition, the bird was still alive, though not too happy about being beaten. However, his face softened as the Cup Brothers explained their plan.

"Well…alright then." Wally weakly handed his soul contract over with his foot. As Cuphead accepted the contract, Mugman bit his lip, looking off to the side.

"Sorry we had to beat you so hard."

"Ah please, my feathers will grow back." Wally said. "Just make sure to give the Devil an extra-hard sock in the jaw from me!"

"Will do." Cuphead beamed, cracking his knuckles. As the boys continued on their way, Bendy was just in time to hear Wally Junior asking his father

"Daddy…if the Devil gets your soul contract…am I gonna _disappear_?!"

"Not a chance." Wally Warbles grunted as he pulled himself back up. "I sacrificed a lot to get you Junior…no matter what happens, I'm _not_ going to lose you. It's like I said;" He gave his son a weak smile. "I'll never let ANYTHING happen to you."

Before he could stop himself, Bendy balled his hands into fists. He was just faintly aware of the liquid coming out of the side of his mouth. He raised his hand, wiping the stuff away…and suddenly noticing that it was black.

This did not go unnoticed by Cuphead, who narrowed his eyes at the little demon.

_I've got to bait him somehow…but what do I do? I don't want Mugs getting dragged into this…_

Speaking of Mugman, he spoke up suddenly.

"Hey Bendy? You okay there?"

"Huh?" Bendy looked up suddenly, nodding a little too quick in response. "Yeah, I'm fine!"

"You sure?" Mugman asked, a concerned look on his face. Bendy let out a sigh, looking down.

"I don't know. I just…feel really weird right now."

Finally, Cuphead couldn't take it anymore. He whipped around, giving Bendy an accusing glare.

"Why? Is it 'cause you've got something you've been _keeping secret_ from us?!"

"Cup!" Mugman gaped in shock and horror, but Cuphead ignored him. "I know who you really are! _What_ you are!"

"I…I don't know what you're talking about!" Bendy started, his eyes darting from side to side. Cuphead's sneer deepened, and Mugman rounded on him.

"Cuphead, what's gotten into you?! What are you accusing Bendy of, and why?!"

"_He _knows why." Cuphead held up his finger, sparks starting to come from it as Bendy and Mugman gasped in unison. "So how's about it, _**demon**_?! Do you want to tell him…or should I?!" Bendy looked between Cuphead and Mugman, the fear obvious on his face.

"I...I..."

And then, before Bendy, or the boys, knew what was going on, he turned and ran. Ran far, far away without a second thought.

"Bendy, come back!" Mugman started to follow him, but Cuphead grabbed his arm.

"Forget it Mugs. We're better off without him." Mugman turned, glaring at him.

"What did you do that for?! How could...?!" Finally, Cuphead couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Mugs...you didn't see this...but there's something wrong with Bendy. If he'd stayed with us...we probably would've gotten hurt...or worse."

"How can you say that?!" Mugman demanded, glaring at his brother. "How can you be so sure?!" Cuphead gave him a serious look.

"Because he's not just any demon, Mugs. Bendy's the Devil's son."

**A/N**: _Right so...explanation time. You guys are probably wondering why I didn't do the usual greetings at the beginning and respond to reviews like always. I'm sorry if this feels kind of rushed, I'm just...not in a good place right now. Like, I'm not feeling TERRIBLE, I've just kind of been putting unnecessary stress on myself lately, both for important stuff, like real life and work, as well as art and well, writing. Also, I didn't like the original ending of this chapter, so I rewrote it, and now it just feels kind of rushed. Yeah...I know this chapter wasn't my best...I'm REALLY sorry about that, guys. _

_I promise, the next one is going to be MUCH better. Anyway, I've got a job interview tomorrow morning...wish me luck, guys._


	13. Betrayal

**A/N**: _Well, here it is! This is one of several chapters I've been looking forward to writing for a while now, practically since I started working on this story...things REALLY start picking up here. And, completely unintentionally, it's much longer than the last one-I hope that means it'll be better too. _

_AlchemyWriter: All part of the Devil's plan to influence/manipulate Bendy...oh, and just wait, things are about to get SO much worse. You ain't seen nothing yet..._

_Valeriyah: Well, I'm glad you liked it anyway! And thank you so much for your concern, you're so sweet! _

_Well, enough with that, on to the next chapter. This one also introduces a CERTAIN character...one I was struggling to fit into the story somehow, even if it was just a bit part. _

_**Disclaimer**: If I owned either Cuphead or Bendy and the Ink Machine, I wouldn't be job-hunting now, would I?_

King Dice paced back and forth in front of the Die House, looking down at his watch every few minutes. The boys were taking too long. They should have been here by now…shouldn't they?

_Unless…_

A dark expression crossed King Dice's face.

"Bendy…he has somethin' to do with this somehow." He gritted his teeth, his concern being replaced by anger and paranoia. "The next time I see that demonic little brat, I'll…!" He sighed, allowing himself to breathe and calm down.

"Alright, easy there Dice. Easy. You don't actually have any proof that he did anything. You're just stressing yourself out over nothing."

Except he wasn't. If Cuphead and Mugman failed in their quest…

Dice shook his head, sighing again as he decided to step outside for some fresh air. No sooner had he stepped outside than he ran into a familiar face.

"Oh, you. What are _you_ doing here?" He frowned, causing the other one to chuckle.

"An old kettle can't simply pass by? It won't do you any good to be so suspicious of everyone all the time, King Dice." Elder Kettle answered, giving King Dice a stern, almost grandfatherly, look.

"Cut the crap, Kettle." Dice retorted. "You _don't_ 'simply pass by'. So what, then?" He asked, crossing his arms. "Here to dish out some sage advice no one asked for? Or are you just gonna tell me how disappointed you are in the way I turned out?" Elder Kettle actually looked offended.

"Why Dice, I wouldn't even think of it! Do you really think so little of me? Or perhaps…" He gave Dice a meaningful look. "It's not _me_ you're upset with." King Dice made a weird choking sound.

"Don't you start with me, old man!" Elder Kettle sighed, looking at the die-headed being sympathetically.

"Still so hot-headed, just like when you were a child."

"Yeah, I haven't changed at all since then, huh?!" King Dice snapped, getting angrier and angrier by the second. "Pot and Teacup were always such good kids, and I was just the no-good, troublemakin' brat of no-good, troublemakin' parents!" Dice felt his hands start to shake as he thought back to his childhood, his school days.

"How could I _not_ turn out the way I did, huh?! Even if my folks didn't sell me to the Devil, I probably would've just gone to him on my own, right?! Cause I'm a bad seed—I always was! And now…!" King Dice's shoulders slumped as he felt his anger ebb away, Cuphead's and Mugman's faces passing through his mind again. "And now, cause of me…two innocent kids are about to end up the same way. Serving that horned bastard for all eternity." He looked down, no longer able to meet Elder Kettle's eyes. "Why…_why_ did Teapot and Teacup trust me to take care of their sons, anyway?! They knew…they HAD to have known…"

For the first time in a while, Elder Kettle spoke again.

"You're right, Dice. They _did_ know. They knew that, in spite of everything, you're still a good person."

Dice let out a snort that might have been a laugh, and Elder Kettle gave him a concerned frown.

"Dice, how old are Cuphead and Mugman?"

"Ten, why does it…?"

"There you go!" Elder Kettle smiled at him warmly. "If you were really such a bad guardian, or a bad person, as you thought, do you really think you could have kept those boys alive for ten years?" Dice started to open his mouth to answer, but stopped himself. Elder Kettle shook his head, giving Dice a gentle look.

"You're far too hard on yourself Dice. You always were—even back when you were a child. I remember what it was like having you in class; you were indeed quite the little horror. And the one or two times I confronted you about it, you made it clear you didn't know any other way. Not that I can say I was surprised, the way you grew up." He placed a hand on King Dice's shoulder. "I know you didn't choose the family you were born into…nor was it your choice to enter the Devil's service." Dice bit down on his lip, forcing himself not to break down right then and there.

"Old man, if you don't shut up…"

"But you _can_ choose to turn your life around. Teapot and Teacup knew that…and so do their sons. And so do I." Dice bit down on his lip harder, almost to the point of drawing blood. Elder Kettle continued.

"And for what it's worth…I think you're already well on your way. After all…" Elder Kettle offered King Dice another smile before looking upwards. "How would those boys have survived long enough to be arriving right now?"

Finally, Dice looked up, successfully managing to blink away the tears that were threatening to spill over to see…was that a _dragon_?!

Oh right…Dice remembered him. And there on his back, he could see two tiny figures that it took him a moment to realize were Cuphead and Mugman.

Elder Kettle patted King Dice on the back.

"You really SHOULD give yourself more credit. Now then, how about you get back inside?" He gave Dice one last smile before heading off on his way, and Dice turned robotically, going back inside so he could let the boys through.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Grim!" Mugman called as he and Cuphead jumped off the dragon's back.

"Yeah…so um, no hard feelings?" Cuphead asked sheepishly.

"Not at all!" Grim Matchstick smiled. "It was f…f…fun! Good luck on the r…rest of your quest!"

He flew off, and the boys went into the Die House, where King Dice was waiting.

"You're alright…you're both safe…" It took all his self-control not to fall on his knees and pull both boys into a hug right then and there.

"Of course we are!" Cuphead laughed. "You know we don't give up easy!" King Dice allowed himself a jovial laugh.

"You gave it to them debtors but good, huh?!" It was then that he noticed that something was missing.

Or rather, some_one_…

"Hang on. Where's…?" The Cup Brothers' smiles faded. Mugman gave Cuphead an accusing glare, and Cuphead just looked off to the side. Finally, Mugman sighed, his angry look fading as he answered.

"We don't know. He just kind of ran off after Cuphead yelled at him—I wanted to look for him, but…"

"We didn't have time!" Cuphead interrupted. "We had to go to the next debtor, and we were better off without him anyway!"

And like that, the boys were arguing.

"Boys!" King Dice snapped at them. "Cuphead! Mugman! Knock it off!" He moved to separate the two of them, and finally, Cuphead couldn't take it anymore.

"Tell him, King Dice!" He said, looking up at King Dice. "Tell him that Bendy's the Devil's son!"

So one of them ended up finding out after all...

"It's true." He admitted with a sigh, looking between the boys guiltily as he let them go. "Fact, I was right there in the casino the day the Devil brought his baby son in to show everyone. It was only a few weeks 'fore you boys turned up on my doorstep." Dice shook his head, a remorseful look on his face. "I was scared when I saw he was with you two…I should've told you, but…"

"The Devil's got you on a pretty tight leash, huh?" Mugman asked. It wasn't angry or accusing, Dice couldn't sense anything but earnest curiosity and understanding in Mugman's face and voice. Just like that morning…

Those boys really were too good for him…

He nodded.

"For all I know, the Devil could be watching us right now." He chanced a glance behind him, as if expecting the Devil to pop up any moment.

"I still can't believe it." Mugman frowned. "Bendy acts so…_different_ from his dad." Cuphead started to argue…then stopped himself.

As much as he hated to admit it…Bendy had never done anything to hurt them. The most he'd done was tell the debtors about them…but he didn't know any better. Plus, that was just on Inkwell Isle 1.

King Dice looked off to the side uneasily.

"If you want the truth, I actually don't know if that little demon is really bad. I know his daddy's sure _tried_, but…" He sighed again, looking back at the boys. "Well, anyway, you boys had better head on over to the next island now. With any luck, we should be seeing each other again soon. Just…make the right choices, okay? Last thing I want is for you two to end up like me."

And then, to his surprise…both boys went over and hugged him. King Dice blinked in surprise.

"Uh...Cuphead? Mugman?"

"We're going to get _your_ soul contract from the Devil, too." Mugman promised. Dice's mouth fell open in shock.

"What?! Cup, Mugs, no—it's too dangerous. 'Sides…it's already too late for me."

"I don't buy that, and neither should you!" Cuphead said, breaking the hug so he could give King Dice a determined look. "We're going to kick the Devil's butt and save you, and everyone else! Just you watch!" Cuphead ran off with Mugman before Dice could say another word and he let out a sigh, sinking down and disappearing through a hole in the ground into the Devil's office.

"_**So, it seems I was right all along." **_The Devil sneered. _**"Those two little mugs are making mincemeat out of all the debtors…there's something special about them." **_He let out a laugh. _**"Of course, I guess there'd HAVE to be, for you to be raising them as long as you have been. And Bendy has played his part perfectly as well…such a good boy."**_ Dice balled his hands into fists, gritting his teeth.

"So he **is** in on this whole thing after all!"

"_**Well, not **_**knowingly**_**." **_The Devil stated. _**"I just needed a way to make sure he would become the demon he was always meant to be…and thanks to those boys of yours, he keeps getting closer and closer! Just a little more pushing, and…!"**_

He didn't get a chance to finish. Before he could stop himself, King Dice punched the Devil in the face. Dice knew he was in trouble a SECOND after, as the Devil slowly, dangerously, raised a hand to his cheek. He managed to swallow his fear back, standing his ground and putting all the hatred he could into his voice as he glared at the Devil and said

"I don't care what happens to _me_ anymore. But if you think I'm gonna sit back and let you use my boys…or _**yours**_ for that matter…you've got another thing coming, 'Boss'!"

Baring his teeth, the Devil put his hands on either side of his desk, pulling himself up to his full height as he glared down at Dice.

"_**Mister. King. Dice. Have you lost your…?!"**_

Once again, he found himself cut off as Dice pulled out his deck of living cards, sending some of them flying with a flick of his wrist. The cards exploded as they reached the Devil, a roar of anger escaping him. As he was disoriented, King Dice's eyes quickly scanned the desk, looking around for his soul contract.

He wasn't stupid enough to think that he was a match for the _Devil_, especially not on his own, but if he was quick, and worked carefully, maybe, _**maybe**_, he'd be able to grab his soul contract and run. And then, he found it, poking out of the top desk drawer. Dice started to reach out to grab his contract…only to get blasted from behind

A sharp gasp escaped the die-headed man as he felt himself going numb, pain spreading across his body. Dice fell forward, revealing Bendy, steam coming from his hand, a dark look on his face. It seemed that, after running away, he'd decided to come back to the casino after all. He seemed to come back to himself as he looked at the unconscious form of King Dice, a gasp escaping him.

"Wh…what?! What did I do?!" He put his hands to his head in panic…only to feel a strange, wet sensation. Bendy pulled his hands away to see a dark, inky substance on his fingers. The little demon cried out in alarm and backed away, not noticing the cruel smile on his father's face.

Yes…the time was finally right…he was finally becoming the demon he was meant to be...

Bendy's eyes filled with frightened tears as he felt himself start to, for lack of a better word, _melt_ as his body changed.

"What's going on?! _What's happening to me?!_"

"_**Shh…don't try to fight it."**_ The Devil walked over to Bendy as he fell to his knees on the floor, gritting his teeth. _**"This is what was meant to happen, my son. Now, finally, you can make your father proud."**_ His cruel smile grew as he said _**"You will make a fine replacement over my traitorous, no-good lackey…and in time, I know that you will do an EXCELLENT job running the casino, maybe even hell itself, in my place."**_

Bendy, at this point, could barely hear his father's words. Pain, worse pain than anything he had ever felt before, consumed him as his limbs stretched out, his body grew taller and thinner, the inky substance spreading over his face to cover his eyes as claws grew on his right hand, ripping through his glove. A pained scream escaped him, turning into a roar, as the Devil looked down at his transforming son with pride, nothing but pure malice on his face.

"_**There's Daddy's good little monster…"**_

**A/N**: _Oh heck! Bendy's turning into a full demon (a la Ink Bendy), and King Dice is out for the count, things aren't looking good! _

_TBH, I'm not ENTIRELY sure how I feel about the last half of this chapter, i.e. the fight. I always intended for King Dice to stand up to the Devil, but don't know if I'm too happy with the way I went about it. I knew I couldn't do the same thing with the cards that he did in the game, due to the Devil not being shrunken down to fit in a roulette wheel like Cuphead and Mugman in the game. Also, I figured that one of Bendy's powers in this version as he turns into Ink Bendy would be fire/energy blasts...I might edit it later? IDK, it sounds kind of stupid. And yeah, I figured that Bendy would go running back to his father after the incident with Cuphead and Mugman-he was scared and confused and looking for comfort...and his demonic side taking over compelled him to attack King Dice when he saw him attacking his father. _

_Don't worry though, Dice is fine...ish. But suffice to say, things are REALLY going to get different from the game from here on..._

_So...what did you guys think? Review, maybe give me your suggestions as to how to improve the fight? But either way...review please!_


	14. Like Father, (Un) Like Sons

**A/N**: _This took a little longer than I wanted...I was actually going to post this chapter last night, but it was getting late and I was busy with a lot of other things, so yeah. Also, this last week in general has been pretty busy for me-been to a LOT of job interviews, along with other stuff. One of them was as a dog handler which I was HOPING would work out, but in the end they decided not to select me. So yeah, pretty disappointing...but thanks to some advice from my old counselor, I've been looking for some other job opportunities in other fields. Also, I finally finished a (semi) big art project I've been working on for a while, so that makes me happy. And I'd say I did a pretty good job for someone who doesn't usually draw animals (if anyone is curious, check my Tumblr, rhys-ravenfeather, under the tag 'rhys-art'). _

_As for the story itself, there are only a few chapters left in it, plus an epilogue, and as of the last chapter, this story is FINALLY reaching the points I've been dying to write for a while...things are wrapping up! So I think I'll be alright. Also, I **was** considering writing a DP version of Mystery Skulls Animated's 'Hellbent' video, as a continuation of the DP/MSA series, but I don't know if I'll actually go through with it/continue the series. Anyway, enough of that, on to the reviewers: _

_ivy pearl: Yeah...Bendy needs a hug (and a better father) in the worst way. Glad you like the story! And the last comment makes a lot more sense now...it's okay! After all, your sister's just a kid. _

_Valeriyah: Yeah...truthfully, one of the most interesting parts of this story for me was rewriting King Dice's character-one of my favorite type of stories, whether it's fanfiction or other things (like Wicked) is reimaginings of villain characters so they're more heroic, or at least more sympathetic, but I didn't want him to seem too OOC or different from how he was in the canon game. Not sure how well I did with that, but I'm glad that you like it! And don't worry, I'll make sure to take care of myself!_

_AlchemyWriter: Ha ha nope...things are gonna get worse for poor little Bendy before they get better. I DO plan for him to have a happy ending though, so yeah. It's all gonna be worth in in the end. _

_Well, that's all for now, on to the story!_

_Disclaimer: If I owned Cuphead or Bendy, some things would have been different (i.e. my ships would've been canon). _

Cuphead and Mugman barely spoke to each other as they went around Inkwell Isle 3. Part of it was their determination—they were so close now! They only had the debtors on this island left, then they could finally face the Devil. They could save themselves, save King Dice…save everyone. They had to hurry though; night was fast approaching.

The other reason was that the Bendy thing still had them pretty shaken up. Cuphead tried not to think about it too much. There were a TON of emotions washing over him at once every time he did…it almost made his head spin.

It wasn't long after fighting Captain Brineybeard that the silence between them was finally broken.

Cuphead looked up as he realized that his brother had spoken.

"Huh? You say something, Mugs?"

"Yeah." Mugman nodded. "What do you think Mom and Dad were like?"

Cuphead actually froze in his tracks.

"What brought this up?" He asked, frowning a little, to which Mugman shrugged.

"Just…thinking."

"Well, how the heck am I supposed to know what they were like?!" Cuphead asked grumpily. "I was a _baby _the last time I saw them!"

"Alright, alright!" Mugman held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Jeez, no need to get so twisted off about it!"

"Sorry…" Cuphead mumbled, looking off to the side as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Mugman sighed and shook his head as he started to walk off again.

"…King Dice did tell me about them once, though."

Mugman froze in his tracks. He didn't say a word, however, and Cuphead took that as his cue to continue.

"He said that Mom and Dad were some of the best people he'd ever met. Mom was really brave and strong, and Dad was kind and encouraging—he'd always listen to any problem anyone had, even if he couldn't help solve it." Cuphead let out a shaky sigh. "Said that they were two of the best people he'd ever met."

Mugman felt like a rock had been dropped into his stomach. He hadn't even realized how much he missed his parents.

No, missed wasn't the right word. He'd have to have remembered them, had to have _known_ them, for him to be able to miss them. But of course, like Cuphead, he'd just been a baby too…now he was sorry he asked. Just as he was chastising himself for asking such a stupid question in the first place, Cuphead spoke up again.

"King Dice told me that we remind him of them, you know." Mugman's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really?"

Cuphead half-nodded, half-shrugged.

"Like I said, I have no idea what they were like…lot of the time, I wish I did." He frowned a little. "But from what I heard, they were great people. And I guess we're not that different from them." He almost smiled. He didn't say it out loud, but part of Cuphead couldn't help but wonder if that was at least part of the reason King Dice had kept them as long as he had.

Mugman took that moment to bring up the question he'd been meaning to ask for a while.

"You think Bendy's okay?" This time, Cuphead was the one who didn't answer, and Mugman decided to continue. "Cup, I know how you feel…I'm still pretty shocked about all this. But Bendy can't help who his dad is—heck, that kind of makes him like us, if you really think about it. After all…"

"_Excuse me?"_ A voice suddenly interrupted. _"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear."_ The Cup Brothers turned around, starting in surprise at the figure behind them. It was a robot, a little over seven feet tall, absolutely towering over them. They knew who he was right away; the boys had seen him on the list of debtors.

"You're…you're Dr. Kahl's robot." Cuphead stated, trying not to look too scared. The robot nodded, and Cuphead and Mugman were surprised to see a melancholy look on his face.

"_Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to talk." _The robot's voice, while mechanical and a bit jarring, was soft, almost calming. It didn't seem like he was going to attack any time soon.

"_I knew you were going to come looking for me sooner or later, so I thought it would be best to find you first…without my father knowing." _

"Your father?" Cuphead blinked stupidly for a second or two before the realization suddenly dawned on him. "Oh…Dr. Kahl, right?" The robot nodded, looking even sadder.

"_My father is…a bit strange. Lots of people even think he's a mad scientist. But he cares about me…when he created me, he put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make sure I was perfect. But after my initial activation, I malfunctioned, so the doctor rebuilt me. No matter how much he tried though, new problems kept popping up every time he tried repairing me. I knew he was disappointed, and I couldn't stand seeing my father so upset. So I went to the casino._

"_To be honest, I think part of the reason I made the deal was to prove to myself that I had a soul. Pretty stupid way to go about it, I know, but I wanted to make sure. But more than anything, I wanted to make my father happy. I wanted to be perfect for him." _

The robot shook his head again, somehow able to sigh despite not having lungs.

"_Father has been waiting for you. He told me to fight for my life when I see you, but I don't want that. So here." _He handed his soul contract over to the Cup Brothers like Beppi had on Inkwell Isle 2, and Mugman looked at him in surprise.

"Thanks but…why just hand your contract over? Why would you trust us?"

"_Because I've met Bendy before." _The robot answered, almost smiling. _"He's good, nothing like his father. He and I are the same—like you said, neither of us can help who our fathers are." _

"No offense, but I think having a mad scientist for a dad is still a lot better than the _**Devil**_." Cuphead scoffed.

"_Maybe...but Father __**did**__ talk about wanting to vivisect you after we'd beaten you." _Cuphead and Mugman felt simultaneous chills going down their spines as an old man's voice suddenly called out

"Junior? Are you out here?"

"_That's Father." _The robot said, a nervous look crossing his metallic features. _"You should go now, before he gets here." _Cuphead nodded, a nervous look crossing his face, as Mugman gave the robot a quick thanks before leaving with his brother.

Once they were a good distance away, Cuphead unrolled the robot's soul contract to really look at it, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

Mugman pursed his lips, humming thoughtfully before spotting one of Porkrind's carts close to them. As he walked off to get them some new potions, Cuphead did some thinking.

He hated to admit it, but, like with the robot, he and Bendy were the same, in a way. Granted, King Dice spent most of his and Mugman's life trying to hide his sinister double life from the boys, but Cuphead had had his suspicions even before then. He could only imagine what it was like having the _Devil_ for a father. Bendy seemed okay…but what if the Devil had been abusing him, to try and make him more evil and demonic?

Or had some _other_ ulterior motives for him…

As Mugman came back with the potions, Cuphead made up his mind, rolling up Dr. Kahl's robot's soul contract and putting it with the others. Mugman gave him a weird look as Cuphead drank his potion.

"Cup? You've got that look on your face again." Cuphead nodded a little, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he finished drinking.

"Mugs…I've got a radical idea."

"Is it about Bendy?" Mugman asked knowingly, to which Cuphead nodded.

"I messed up." He admitted, letting out a sigh. "I had the guy all wrong from the beginning…I mean heck, look at _me_!" He let out a humorless laugh as he pointed at himself. "I got us into this mess by being greedy and stupid, and gambling at that stupid casino in the first place! And it's not even the first time I got us into trouble either!" Cuphead sighed, shaking his head. "I can't explain it Mugs, but I get the feeling that Bendy is as much a victim here as us, and the debtors." He looked at his brother seriously, and a knowing look crossed Mugman's face, coupled with some underlying happiness and hope.

"Cuphead…are you saying…?"

"I say we change our plans a little." Cuphead confirmed. "Mugs, we're gonna save everyone…including Bendy."

**A/N**: _There we go! Both Cup Brothers are now officially in Bendy's corner! But he MAY not be what they were expecting when they get back to him..._

_I kind of wanted to do something with Dr. Kahl's robot...some time back I came up with a theory that he made his deal to be perfect for Dr. Kahl, and once Kahl found out what he did, he was determined to help protect his creation/son so he didn't lose him. Also, I think it ties nicely into the theme of the story. And yeah...I might have made the robot a LITTLE smaller; I mean, in the game we have no idea how big he really is, but in the game he seems almost kaiju-sized? Might just have been for effect, but I figured making him a little smaller would make him a little more conspicuous. _

_Sorry about the lack of action in this chapter, but don't worry, things'll start heating up again soon! Until then though, review please!_


	15. Return to the Casino

**A/N**: _Well, here's the next chapter! The Cup bros are well on their way-only the Phantom Express left, then they're gonna head into the casino to face the Devil and save themselves, and everyone else! _

_Yeah...not much else to say, not much has happened this weekend, though I DO have a couple possible job appointments coming up-hope at least one of them works out...I **need** a sustainable job. There's also the Hy-Vee down the street...tomorrow I plan to call the hiring manager so hopefully we can arrange something, and I can work there at least part-time? Fingers crossed..._

_AlchemyWriter: Well, they're too late to stop Bendy from transforming...but that doesn't necessarily mean they can't save him! _

_nannymay: Welcome aboard! Yeah, I figured it would fit for the story, y'know? I'm glad you're enjoying it, I hope you like the rest of the story just as much! _

_JOHNHAMMOND1993: Well, you'll just have to wait and see-I can promise you this much, if and when Bendy is able to get back to normal, he won't be nearly as fond of 'dear old dad' anymore. As for the Phantom Express and King Dice...well, like I said, you're just going to have to read to find out ;) _

_Well, that's all for now, on to the story! _

_**Disclaimer**_: _I don't own Cuphead or BATIM. All I own is my imagination, and even then, it's not like I'm the first person to have come up with the idea to combine the stories, heh..._

The Legendary Chalice was honestly, completely, confused.

When she saw that the little _demon_ wasn't with the Cup Brothers anymore, she was relieved. Thrilled, even. She figured it had meant that the boys had finally wised up and left the Devil's son far, FAR behind.

But then, when she had expressed their relief, had they actually **defended** him?! The spirit was too stunned by what the boys said to even get angry as they shouted at her, automatically giving them the third and final super art she found and watching as they headed off on their way.

Once they were out of earshot, the Chalice sighed, shaking her head.

"'_Friends'? With __**him**__?!" _She frowned a little. _"Those boys sure are strange, that's for sure! Then again…" _A thoughtful look crossed her face as she tried thinking back to her own life, her childhood. As much as she tried, the Legendary Chalice couldn't remember if she ever had any close friends—at least, not anyone she would possibly put her very _soul_ on the line for, like Cuphead and Mugman were doing with Bendy. Maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought after all, if they were willing to save him from his father.

And maybe she'd forgotten what it was like to be a child, and have friends she'd do anything for, and who would do anything for her…

A smile then crossed the Legendary Chalice's face as she came up with an idea.

"_It's been a while since I've seen Chef Saltbaker…maybe I should pay him a visit…"_

* * *

Mugman remembered seeing a train for the first time when he was maybe six years old. He remembered how excited he'd been—for the longest time he'd been fascinated with trains; King Dice had gotten him a toy train, he'd talked nonstop about how he wanted to ride on a train one day, and even wanted to become a train conductor when he grew up for a while.

Any lingering thoughts or love of trains that Mugman might have had went flying out the window completely as he and Cuphead fought the Phantom Express. As in, the head of _the_ _actual train itself, _after defeating several of its workers.

"I don't get it!" Mugman protested as he shot at the train. "Did one of the other guys make a deal with the Devil?! Or did the train itself?!"

"We can figure it out later!" Cuphead said. "For now, keep shooting!" He parried off the train's tail light, taking the opportunity to keep shooting at its exposed heart. Mugman was actually surprised how far they'd come.

Here they were, at the last debtor (debtors?)…and not a moment too soon. It was night now. On any normal night, they'd probably be getting ready for bed at this point. It was actually kind of chilling, the more Mugman thought about it.

They were FAR from home, fighting for their lives, if not their souls…as well as their father figure's. Not to mention a whole lot of people who had pretty much all wanted them dead…

Finally, their efforts succeeded. The Phantom Express skidded on its wheels to try and keep itself up as it collapsed on the side of the road.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man! This is BAD!" The boys whipped around to see the Blind Specter floating up behind them, a worried expression on his eyeless face.

"Our deal was the only thing keeping business going—do you have any idea how many people were buying tickets for a _living_ train?!" He put his hands on either side of his head, letting out a wail. "We're finished! Sunk!" T-Bone, who had shrunk to normal size, let out a snort as he walked over to him.

"_That's _your biggest worry right now?!" He demanded, glaring at the ghost. "We're all going to lose our souls, you idiot! Because of _you_! Because you were stupid enough to go to that damned casino in the first place!" The Blind Specter quailed in fear at his coworker's shouts, and Mugman couldn't help but notice water coming from his palms…he was crying.

"I…I just wanted to help…" He whimpered. Finally, Mugman had had enough.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" The Blaze Brothers, who had left the train to join T-Bone in glaring down the Specter, turned to leer at Mugman.

"Stay out of this, kid! Just take our contract and go already!"

"Not until you back off!" Mugman shouted. Cuphead's mouth fell open as he watched him. "Look, we're not planning to sell you all out to the Devil, if that's what you're scared of! Heck, we're heading to the casino right now to kick his butt and burn all the soul contracts!"

The Blind Specter's empty eye socket widened in surprise, as did the eyes on his palms.

"Really?"

"Of _course_ not!" One of the Blaze Brothers snapped. "He's bluffing, _nobody_ stands up to the Devil!"

"Yeah!" The other one said. "They'd get themselves killed for sure!" Both of them laughed and Mugman balled his hands into fists.

"Fine, _don't_ believe us! We don't have time to waste…but don't take it out on him either! He was just trying to help you all!" With that, he turned and huffed off, and Cuphead followed after him.

"Mugs! Hey Mugs, hold on!" Mugman didn't stop until they had reached Inkwell Hell, staring up at the casino. Cuphead gave his brother a look of genuine concern as he approached him.

"You doing okay?"

"I don't know." Mugman admitted with a sigh, looking down at the ground. "We're really close now…but I just can't help thinking that something's going to go wrong. I mean, we're about to go up against _the Devil_, what if…?!"

"Hey." Cuphead put a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "It's going to be okay. _We're_ going to be okay. Look how far we've come! Look how many butts we've kicked today!" He beamed, and Mugman narrowed his eyes at him.

"They were fighting for their **souls**, y'know. You could at least try not to act so happy about it." If Cuphead had heard his mumbling, he didn't give any indication, as he continued

"And now, it's that jerk's turn! We're going to kick HIS butt too, and save our skins, not to mention a whole lot of other people's! We'll be heroes, Mugs!" He gave him a big grin. "Isn't that exciting?!" Mugman smiled a little, beginning to cheer up.

"Yeah…it _is_ pretty exciting." He admitted, and Cuphead squeezed his shoulder a little tighter before letting him go, clapping him on the back.

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go already!" Mugman nodded, and the Cup Brothers headed into the studio together.

* * *

The first thing they noticed when they went in was that the casino was empty…and quiet. Almost unnervingly so. On the one hand, it made sense…it _was_ really late. But on the other, they thought that the Devil would be waiting for them. Or if not him, one of the casino workers.

Finally, someone came into view.

But it wasn't the Devil.

It wasn't even King Dice.

Mugman briefly remembered the cigar-headed man from when they had first entered the casino; but he didn't look nearly as sinister then as he did now.

"Going somewhere, boys?" Mr. Wheezy asked, his voice just as raspy as ever.

"Yeah, we were! We were on our way to your boss!" Cuphead snapped. "Now get out of our way!"

"Sorry, can't do that." Mr. Wheezy laughed. "Boss' orders. He had one final test for you boys—you're not going _anywhere_." Cuphead gritted his teeth, glaring at him angrily.

"Oh yeah?!" He challenged. "Who's gonna stop us—you?!" He let out a laugh. "You and what army?!"

No sooner had Cuphead asked than the casino's _other_ employees showed up one by one, some seeming to come out of nowhere. From a living roulette wheel to a skeletal horse to a downright disturbing magic 8-ball…and they all looked even _less_ friendly than any of the debtors. Cuphead made a face, feeling a lump forming in his throat.

"I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut…"

**A/N**: _Yep, here it is! The casino fight-the last fight before the boys face the Devil (And possibly Bendy...) Since King Dice is actually on the Cup Brothers' side in this story, I figured I'd give Mr. Wheezy Dice's role in the fight...kind of have him be the ringleader for all the other casino workers. _

_I also wanted to put the Legendary Chalice in one last time, even if it was brief. And yes, I wanted to put in a nod to the DLC-and since it turns out it's not coming out until next year, I'm just going to go ahead and guess, for now, that Chef Saltbaker will help bring the Legendary Chalice back to life as Ms. Chalice. At least, for the sake of the story, before the DLC actually comes out and probably proves me wrong...*looks back over at Shining Halo*. _

_So, Cup Brothers vs. The Casino Workers! What will happen next?! Stay tuned to find out, and as always, review!_


	16. Cup Brothers vs The Casino Bosses

**A/N**: _Heya guys. Sorry this chapter has taken a little while...there's been a lot going on lately-namely, my mom and stepdad coming up to visit. It went pretty much the way I expected...her first day up here, my mom screamed at me for not cleaning my bathroom. In all fairness, that one was on me...I should have remembered the way she gets, and thought to clean before she got here..._

_Also, my hosts discovered a center up here that will, hopefully, offer me support in finding jobs, give me interview tips, and generally help me better support myself due to my Asperger's. TBH I really don't know how to feel about all this. I mean, if it works it works and that will be great, but basically I just...really HATE being an adult, and having to deal with all this..._

_Anyway, enough with that, on to the reviews from last chapter!_

_JOHNHAMMOND1993: They're just going to fight...couldn't think of a way to duplicate the 'game', plus, I didn't want to just do a copy-and-paste of the video game...heh. As for the rest, well, you'll just have to wait and see!_

_AlchemyWriter: Back to the Future Part 3! Heck yeah! That's pretty funny, heh. And yeah, I got the reference. _

_So...last fight before the boys face the Devil (and possibly...someone else) How will it go?! Read on to find out!_

_**Disclaimer**: If I owned either Cuphead or Bendy, I wouldn't have to be writing fanfiction now, would I?_

The first thing King Dice was aware of as he regained consciousness was that it was hot. _Very_ hot.

Also, he'd been put into a sitting position. And his hands were behind his back. He tried moving them, to no avail. It took the die-headed man a good five seconds before he realized that there was something cold on his wrists. He'd been handcuffed.

_That_ did it. Dice's eyes snapped open, a gasp escaping him.

"_**Oh good, you're up."**_ The Devil's voice came. _**"I was beginning to think you were actually DEAD…you're a traitor and a fool Dice, but all the same, it would have been a shame to lose my favorite plaything so soon." **_He walked before Dice, his usual malicious smile in place. _**"Especially when I haven't even gotten the chance to properly replace you yet."**_

A horrible thought came to King Dice, his breath catching in his throat.

"Boys…"

"_**Oh, not to worry."**_ The Devil said. _**"Your two boys haven't gotten here yet—though if they DO manage to arrive, I will be quite impressed with them. Quite impressed indeed."**_ He let out a dark chuckle.

It was then that King Dice finally, fully realized where he was.

Well, at least now he knew why it was so hot…

His thoughts were then interrupted by a growling sound nearby. Dice felt a shiver going down his spine, as the Devil turned, an almost soft look crossing his features as he said

"_**Yes, I know. Don't worry son, I'm sure your little friends will be arriving soon enough." **_

The realization dawned on King Dice, his mouth falling open in shock.

"Was _that_ Bendy?!"

"_**Yes…it took longer than I had hoped, but my boy has finally unlocked his true potential as a demon."**_ He let out a sigh. _**"Better late than never, as they say."**_

King Dice felt his blood run cold. He still didn't know how involved Bendy was in all this, or if he could even control himself right now, but now he was absolutely sure of one thing—the Devil had been manipulating him, just as much as he was manipulating Cuphead and Mugman.

He'd been pulling _all_ their strings from the start.

Dice was surprised how angry the thought suddenly made him. Then again, he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. He was the **Devil**, after all, he guessed he shouldn't put it past him to use his own _son_.

Though now that meant that Cuphead and Mugman were in even more danger. If not from the Devil himself, then from…whatever Bendy had turned into.

"_**Well, I suppose I should return to my office now."**_ The Devil cackled. _**"Wouldn't want those two little mugs to show up and I'm not there…that would just be rude."**_

He disappeared in a flash of fire and brimstone, and King Dice looked upwards, ignoring the noise Bendy was making.

_Hang in there, you two. Your biggest fight is still yet to come._

* * *

Shots rang out as Cuphead and Mugman fought back to back, taking on the casino's employees one by one as they all attacked them.

"Twelve against two?!" Cuphead asked as he shot at Hopus Pocus the rabbit, knocking him out of his hat. "Those aren't fair odds!" Dot's cruel, mocking laugh rang out as she and Pip advanced on them.

"Don't know if you've noticed kid, but this is _the Devil's casino_! You honestly expected us to play fair?!" She opened her mouth wide, spitting out an energy orb at Cuphead, which he just barely avoided as his back collided with Mugman's.

"There's no way we can beat them all!" Mugman exclaimed, a worried look on his face. "If they keep playing dirty, we'll never make it to the Devil in…!"

"No offense Mugs, but _shut up_!" Cuphead said as he moved away from Mangosteen, pulling Mugman with him as the living magic 8-ball lunged at the pair, muttering something that sounded a lot like 'Woop, woop, woop!'.

Once Cuphead was sure they were out of earshot of the casino bosses, he looked back at Mugman.

"Look, it's like I said at the beginning. We've just got to keep…!"

He didn't get a chance to finish. He was belted from behind with a series of roulette balls being flung by Pirouletta as she spun around, crying out in pain as they collided with his back, legs, and the back of his head.

"CUP!" The living roulette wheel let out a mocking laugh as she stopped her pirouette, giving the brothers a look of faux sympathy.

"Oh dear, is brother down for ze count?" She asked in a strong Russian accent. "Vell, zat is a pity—I expected more from Dice's adopted brats!"

Mugman balled his hands into fists, feeling his blood start to boil.

No.

_**No.**_

They'd come THIS far, risked so much to save themselves and so many other people, _including_ their father figure…they were _not_ about to be beaten by the Devil's casino lackeys.

Not if he had anything to say about it.

As Pirouletta did another pirouette, Mugman grabbed Cuphead, moving both of them to safety, before shooting horseshoe blasts at her. She wasn't able to move fast enough to avoid them, and ended up crying out as she was knocked out for the count, the horseshoes also coming back around to hit Phear Lap.

Mr. Chimes looked from his fallen coworkers to the Cup Brothers, letting out an angry screech as he charged forward, taking a leap to crack Mugman's head between his chimes. Mugman sent a powerful lobber shot at him, causing him to fly backwards into Chips Bettigan, who yelled out

"Oh man, the chips are down!" Cuphead, who, by now, had started recovering, looked from their foes to his brother in surprise.

He didn't know if it was because Mugman was feeling so angry, or felt hopeless, if it was both, or if it was something else entirely…but all of a sudden, he seemed really powerful. Clearly, he'd been underestimating his brother—with or without the powers they'd been given, he was stronger than he looked.

"You brats are gonna…hic! Pay for that!" Rum of the Tipsy Troop hiccupped as he and his two companions hurried forward…only to drunkenly fall over each other. Mr. Wheezy groaned, facepalming.

"Remind me why we keep these drunken idiots around?!" He snapped.

"They make the boss laugh!" Mangosteen, who had floated over to him, answered before being blasted into the wall.

"Dot darling, I think it'd be best if we scram!" Pip said fearfully, earning him a glare from his wife.

"Don't tell me you're scared of…!" She and Pip were hit by two blasts as both Cuphead and Mugman fired on them. Mugman turned to look at his brother as he walked over to him.

"You doing okay?"

"Better than I've been in a _long_ time!" He beamed. Mugman had no idea whether or not his brother was being sarcastic, but right now, that didn't matter. Both boys marched up to Mr. Wheezy, their fingertips sparking as they pointed up at him.

"Where's the Devil?!" Cuphead demanded. Wheezy actually started noticeably sweating, pointing down the hall. As Cuphead and Mugman started on their way, the cigar let out a harsh, raspy laugh.

"Just so you boys know, you're _not_ gonna like what you see when you get there! You'd be better off just accepting the boss' offer and handing the contracts over—might be better for you two…not to mention the others!"

Cuphead responded by blasting him, causing him to fall to the ground, unconscious. However, as they continued to the Devil's office, he couldn't help but spare a glance back at the unconscious Wheezy, unmistakable dread starting to spread over him.

**A/N**: _Sorry if that seemed a bit rushed...I guess I kind of just wanted to get this chapter out of the way. The next chapter is the one I've REALLY been looking forward to writing-the boys finally face the Devil, and he's not alone! How will this all turn out?! Stay tuned to find out, and as always, review!_


	17. Cuphead and Mugman vs Bendy

**A/N**: _Well, here it is! The final fight is about to begin...though it's not going to be exactly like how it was in the game. Also, just a heads up; if you didn't hate the Devil before, you DEFINITELY will after this chapter..._

_Side note, you guys hear that Cuphead is going to be getting its own cartoon on Netflix? ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN! Woot woot! Between that, the Animaniacs reboot, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit finally getting his own cartoon, I'm convinced 2020 is going to be the year rubberhose makes a comeback and I'm all on board for it! I'm so excited for it all (and BATDR and Showdown Bandit, of course). _

_JOHNHAMMOND1993: Well, Cuphead and Mugman don't know about the thing with the drawing, so they can't really use that as ammunition. As for the rest...well, you're just going to have to wait to find out ;)_

_nannymay: Good to have a new reviewer! Welcome aboard! As stated...well, you're just going to have to wait and see. (And next time, think you could do the review for the actual chapter? I'm not mad, just saying.)_

_AlchemyWriter: Got that right. And thanks! I've been to a couple more interviews, done walk-ins, so yeah, at least I'm on a couple people's radars now. Still hoping something works out..._

_Well, that's all, on to the next chapter!_

**_Disclaimer_:** _I don't own Cuphead, BATIM, or any of the characters within. But I've got tons of my own to play with, so it balances out. _

Mugman was actually surprised by how easy it was to find the Devil's office. He wasn't sure what exactly he'd been expecting—a big red door with fire coming from under it, maybe?

Or a portal to hell itself…

"Got all the contracts?" He asked Cuphead, double-checking before they went in.

Cuphead nodded positively, holding up the backpack with all the soul contracts. Hopefully, soon they'd be able to get one more, and burn it along with all the others…

Cuphead gulped down his fear, forcing himself to put on a brave face. This was it. No turning back now—it was now or never. He and Mugman shared a look, nodding to each other, before Cuphead reached out, grabbing the knob and opening the door.

Inside was the Devil himself, sitting on a large, throne-like chair. He beamed as the Cup Brothers came inside, spreading his arms wide as an evil smile crossed his face.

"_**Well, well, well…look how far you've come!" **_He beamed. _**"Not only did you bust up all my workers, but I see you've got my soul contracts, as agreed!" **_He held out a clawed hand to take them from the boys. _**"Hand 'em over, and join my team! I daresay you boys will be a FINE replacement for my good-for-nothing lackey, King Dice!"**_

**That** was what sent Cuphead over the edge. Giving the Devil a cold glare, he moved the contracts just out of his reach.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about King Dice like that, you prick! Did you really think we'd just hand over the contracts just like that?!" The Devil's smile faded just the _tiniest_ bit.

"_**What?"**_ Cuphead sneered at him.

"We never actually said we'd hand the contracts over like _that_, did we Mugs?" He looked to his brother, who shook his head.

"We're not going to become your slaves. And we're not going to let you hurt anyone else, either!"

And then, the Devil did something that surprised the brothers.

He…_laughed_.

"_**So, it's going to be like that, huh?" **_He asked with a wry chuckle. _**"Well, I'd be lying if I said I was surprised…I've been watching you two. You're a persistent pair—I can see why my son took a liking to you." **_

That was when the realization suddenly dawned on Cuphead.

"Wait…where _is _Bendy, anyway?" He glared back up at the Devil, his fingertips starting to spark as worry filled him. "_Where's Bendy?!_ Did you do something to him?!"

The Devil let out a relieved sigh, as if a huge burden had been lifted off his chest.

"_**I thought you'd never ask—Bendy's been **_**dying**_** to see you two again, after your last encounter."**_ He turned to the right, smile never leaving his face as he called out _**"Oh son! Your friends are here!" **_

A shuffling, _wet_ sound could soon be heard, and Mugman gasped as he noticed something starting to cover the walls. Ink…or at least, it looked like ink—spreading over the nooks and crannies of the office.

"Cup…look…" Mugman pointed, dread starting to fill him. Cuphead wasn't paying attention, though. He was more focused on the approaching Bendy…and once he came into view, his eyes widened with shock and horror. Cuphead shook Mugman's shoulder to get his attention, and once Mugman turned to see what had gotten his brother so riled up, his hand flew immediately to his mouth, a gasp escaping him.

The creature that came before them _looked_ kind of like Bendy—or, at least, a much taller, thinner version of the little demon, with a strange black liquid, maybe ink, covering his eyes. He wore a smile on his face, which was much wider, more…unnatural than Bendy's normal smile. Much more sinister.

One of his gloves was missing, showing a clawed hand, and his tail was now much longer, curling behind him and more noticeably, well, _devilish_ than before.

"_**I've got to say, I owe you two little mugs my thanks!"**_ The Devil laughed. _**"I was getting so worried for my little hellspawn—he was a bit too nice to be a **_**proper**_** demon. I knew that with a push in the right direction…and my own special touch…he could finally become the demon he was meant to be!"**_ He let out another laugh, and Cuphead balled his hands into fists, starting to feel his blood boil.

"You'd mutate your own _son_?!"

The Devil just shrugged nonchalantly, smile never leaving his face.

"_**Children can be such a handful…sometimes the best thing is to step in and give them a gentle nudge. Of course, I can't take ALL the credit for this."**_ He beamed at the brothers again. _**"You're just as responsible for this, boys. Don't think I don't know about your treatment of Bendy throughout your journey. You suspected him from the very beginning, and when you finally rejected his friendship, well…!"**_ He let out a malicious laugh, and Cuphead felt guilt starting to consume him.

This was _his_ fault.

Bendy was a monster because of _him_…and all he'd wanted to do was make friends. All he'd tried to do was help them, and Cuphead had attacked him.

The Devil's smile was wider and more malicious than ever as he said

"_**On any other day, I might be more grateful…but then again, you two ARE welching out on me, just like all the others! I'll teach you for backing out of a deal!"**_ He turned to Bendy, a mock sweet smile on his face as he asked _**"Now be a good boy and destroy those cups for Daddy?"**_

The transformed Bendy reared back, letting out an eerie hissing/screaming sound before charging at Cuphead and Mugman, his gloved hand reaching out to them. The Cup Brothers dashed to either side, just narrowly avoiding the demon's attack.

"Bendy, stop!" Mugman begged, a pleading look on his face. "You don't have to do this! We're _friends_, remember?!"

"_**Friends?!"**_ The Devil laughed. _**"Is that why you rejected him?! **_**Turned on him**_**?!" **_As if Bendy was feeding on his father's negativity, he let out another screeching hiss, a ball of fire starting to crackle in his hand. Mugman tried to move, but he was wasn't quick enough to get out of the way of the blast, and cried out in pain as the ball of hellfire struck him.

"Mugs!" Cuphead looked from his brother to Bendy, gritting his teeth. He started to raise his finger to shoot at him, and was surprised to find that his hand was shaking.

_Huh?! What's going on with me?!_

As Bendy charged at Cuphead, getting ready to throw another fireball at him, Cuphead tried shooting at him, only managing to graze his shoulder. The inky, transformed demon let out a screech of pain before lobbing his fire at Cuphead, who dodged with a sharp gasp, running over to Mugman as he started to pull himself up.

The brothers didn't have much time to get their bearings, however, before Bendy moved over, grabbing Cuphead in his hands and wrapping his tail around Mugman. Before Cuphead could even think of his next move, Bendy flung him into the wall, and the Devil let out an evil laugh as Cuphead fell limply to the ground.

"_**Well done, son!" **_He turned to grimace at Mugman. _**"Let this be a lesson to you two! Anyone who crosses me will be destroyed!"**_

"Bendy, please." Mugman pleaded. "This isn't you. You don't _have_ to be like your dad!" Bendy brought his tail closer, raising his claws to strike Mugman. Mugman, however, wasn't about to give up.

"Okay, so you're a demon—and the Devil's son at that. But you're _not_ evil. Don't you remember everything we went through together, to get to this point?" A small, sad smile crossed Mugman's face. "You helped us. You may not believe it, but _you helped us_! And I meant what I said earlier—we _are_ friends! Or, at least, I'd like to be, if you don't mind starting over."

Bendy's unnaturally wide smile drooped just a little, but Mugman noticed anyway.

"_**Don't listen to him, Bendy!"**_ The Devil instructed. _**"He's just trying to distract you!" **_

"No, I'm not!" Mugman insisted. "Bendy, I know you're still in there somewhere!" Bendy hesitated for a second, just a second, and Cuphead took that opportunity to speak up.

"Bendy…" Bendy turned to look at him at the same time as Mugman as the elder of the two twins pulled himself up. A small gasp escaped Mugman as he looked at his brother.

"Cup…"

If Cuphead heard him, he didn't give any indication, instead limping over weakly to talk to Bendy.

"I shouldn't have treated you the way I did." Cuphead started weakly, looking up at Bendy. "I was just…" He sighed. "I was really upset about everything—this whole day was pretty much hell. Um, pun not intended." He glanced weakly off to the side, then looked back up at Bendy. "Finding out my adopted father worked for the Devil, risking mine and my brother's lives on a stupid gamble…a gamble that _wasn't your fault_, by the way!" He looked at Bendy, his eyes full of sincerity. "I'm an **idiot**, Bendy! Just ask Mugman, he'll tell you!" Despite the mood, Mugman grinned sheepishly, looking off to the side as he muttered

"He kind of is…"

"I'm a greedy, reckless _idiot_! My whole life I've taken stupid risks…and I guess, with everything else going on and, well, you being a demon and all…I was scared. I didn't want to risk anything else. I was too quick to judge you, and I didn't even realize that you were as much a pawn of your dad as anyone else!"

As Cuphead watched, Bendy's smile completely disappeared, an almost pained frown crossing his features.

"_**Cup…head?"**_

The voice was a bit, well, demonic, with an echo to it, but Bendy's voice…Bendy's _real_ voice, could be heard underneath it.

"Yeah, that's right." Cuphead smiled. "And if you'll let us, we'll save you from your dad…just like we were planning to do with everyone else!" A weak, but genuine, smile crossed his features as he held out his hand.

His finger wasn't sparking…he didn't have any ulterior motives. No plans of shooting Bendy.

"So, what do you say? Want to be friends for real?"

It seemed that Cuphead had actually gotten through to Bendy. As the elder of the Cup brothers watched, Bendy started, for lack of a better word, _melting_.

"Bendy?!" Cuphead gasped. Mugman fell from Bendy's tail as he shrank back to his normal form. Soon, the demon was back to his small, harmless self, looking at Cuphead hopefully.

"Cuphead…did you really mean all that stuff you said?"

"Yeah." Cuphead gave him a genuine smile as he moved over to help Mugman up. "Welcome to the team, Bendy!" He gave him a big grin…but it was short-lived as the Devil roared in anger.

"_**No, no, NO!"**_

Bendy automatically moved protectively in front of the Cup brothers as his father approached, holding up his arms as if to shield them from his vengeance.

"_**You little BASTARDS! It's not enough to go back on our deal, now you turn my own flesh and blood **_**against me**_**?!" **_

"Leave them alone!" Bendy shouted, and the Devil turned his angry gaze on him. Bendy felt a lump form in his throat, but he still tried to look and sound brave as he said "I'm sorry Dad, but Cuphead and Mugman are my _friends_! I'm not going to let you…!"

He never got a chance to finish.

The next thing any of the boys knew, Bendy went flying through the air as the Devil gave him a powerful slap, sending him flying into the wall, like _he_ had with Cuphead. Except this time, a loud, sickening _CRACK!_ could be heard—as well as the unmistakable sound of crying as Bendy rose, putting a hand to his head. Cuphead and Mugman felt bile rise to their throats as the truth dawned on them.

_One of Bendy's horns had broken off. _

"_**How disappointing."**_ Pure and utter disdain could be heard in the Devil's voice, as well as clearly seen on his face. _**"I had such plans for you. To think that I could end up creating something so **_**weak**_**." **_Bendy visibly flinched as his father got closer to him.

"_**You are not a demon. You are not my son. You're an EMBARRASSMENT!"**_

Neither Cup brother knew which of them fired first.

The next thing they knew, however, both of them had shot blasts in the Devil's face, and when he turned on them, neither brother quailed under his gaze, instead casting their own venomous glares on him, fingers still raised and sparking.

It shouldn't have shocked them that the **Devil** could be so cruel, so vile—but even after everything he'd done to them, to the debtors, to King Dice…he'd even hurt _**his own son**_?!

"_Get away from him._" Mugman spat in a cold voice that surprised even him.

"Yeah." Cuphead answered, equally as cold. "Your fight's with _us_, remember?!"

The Devil sneered, showing off all his teeth.

"_**How right you are."**_ A malevolent grin crossed his face. _**"Get ready boys, it's about to get MUCH hotter in here!"**_

And then, before either Cuphead or Mugman could answer, they felt the floor fading from under them, and fell down into pure, seemingly unending, darkness.

**A/N**: _Good news-the boys were able to bring Bendy back! Bad news...now they actually have to fight the Devil himself. Yeah, I decided to change the fight somewhat...have it in the casino/the Devil's office instead of them starting out in hell. Anyway, w__ill the brothers survive and be able to save Bendy, King Dice, and themselves?! Stay tuned to find out!_


	18. Duel with the Devil

**A/N**: _Hey, everyone!_ _So, guess who has two thumbs is FINALLY getting lucky when it comes to work?!_ _Yep, with summer ending, the university I work at is getting work again, and I've been signed up for two shifts Wednesday and Thursday, both this and next week, and I've also been offered remote work as an audio transcriptionist!_ _Also, thanks to my hosts, I've started doing volunteer work at the food bank, and I already like it more than the mobility scooter place! Things are finally looking up for me!_

_Anyway, here it is! The final fight against the Devil...and it's not just the Cup Brothers' lives on the line! Will they be able to win, and save Bendy, King Dice, and everyone else?! _

_Ivy Pearl: Well, your patience is about to pay off, thanks for waiting!_

_JOHNHAMMOND1993: Heh, yeah. Hmm...good question...guess we'll have to wait and see!_

_AlchemyWriter: Yeah...now they just have to beat the Devil! _

_Well, on to the final fight!_

_Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue. I don't own Cuphead or Bendy, and neither do you. _

Some time back, when he had been in one of his darker moods, Cuphead wondered what hell would have been like.

At the time, he imagined a vast, empty…_nothingness_, stretching out forever, with only the screams of thousands of damned souls to keep the newest arrival company.

Well, that or the traditional fire and brimstone, where you were punished by demons for all of eternity.

As he pulled himself up from the ground after his fall and realized that he was, in fact, on the Devil's home turf, he was thankful to find that, while they were surrounded by flames, neither he or Mugman was being tortured.

Yet.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a yell of

"Boys!"

Cuphead and Mugman turned as one to see their guardian chained to a wall next to them, his clothes and face roughed up. Clearly, the Devil had decided to beat him around before taking him down here.

"King Dice!" Mugman gasped, his hands flying to his mouth.

"Hang tight!" Cuphead called. "We'll get you out of here in…!"

Before he could finish his thought, Cuphead was interrupted by a loud 'THUD!' as the Devil landed behind him and his brother, shaking the floor and nearly knocking the boys off their feet.

"_**I'll finish you later, TRAITOR."**_He growled at King Dice. _**"For now, I'm going to teach your boys a lesson about what happens when you try and back out of a deal with me!"**_

"Bendy, go with King Dice!" Cuphead instructed the little demon, who had landed near him and Mugman.

"But what about you guys?!" Bendy asked, fear evident in his eyes. "Are you really going to try fighting my dad?! He's _really_ strong, you could…!"

"Yeah, we know." Cuphead started, a determined look crossing his features. "And he's hurt a lot of people…including _our_ dad. And you. And if you ask me…" His fingers started sparking. "It's about time someone put that bastard in his place." Bendy's eyes widened in surprise.

He couldn't believe it. After everything, Cuphead and Mugman were really going to put their lives, possibly their _souls_, on the line to save everyone…including _**him**_, from his father's wrath?

Mugman nodded his agreement to Cuphead's statement before looking back at Bendy, giving him a reassuring smile.

"We'll take care of this. For now, try and get King Dice free, and then the two of you try and get out of here."

"But…" Bendy started to argue, but he was cut off by the sound of screeching as his father settled on his throne, sending his imps after Cuphead and Mugman. The cup brothers started blasting at them before Mugman turned back to Bendy.

"GO!"

Bendy didn't need to be told twice. He ran over to where King Dice was, moving to try and get his chains off.

"So um…Mister King Dice? Sorry about…" He stopped himself as he realized that the die-headed man was…crying.

"…King Dice?"

A sniffle escaped from King Dice as he looked out at Cuphead and Mugman fighting.

"They called me their dad." Bendy was surprised to see a proud, genuine smile on Dice's face, and he looked from him back to Cuphead and Mugman. As the duo watched, the Devil pulled off his own head, like Baroness von Bon Bon earlier that day, except it turned into a spider-like creature to charge the Cup Brothers.

"Cuphead!" Mugman called. The elder twin caught this in time, and moved out of the way, alternating between shooting at the Devil's head and his body. After the head reattached, the Devil's eyes glowed white, his pitchfork starting to spin in midair as he chanted. Cuphead and Mugman moved in unison, avoiding his flames. Bendy gasped, hands flying to his mouth.

"Your head…" King Dice remarked, his eyes falling on Bendy's broken horn.

"Huh?" Bendy raised a hand to the nub of his horn.

"Oh yeah…Dad did that." A slight look of hurt crossed his face before he went back to trying to get King Dice's handcuffs off. King Dice felt guilt washing over him.

"Sorry for the way I talked to you earlier. I was so scared for my boys, and worried that they'd become slaves to the Devil, like me…that I didn't stop to think about what it might be like for his _son_. What steps he might take to get you to try and follow in his footsteps." Bendy offered him a gentle smile as he managed to get one of Dice's hands free.

"It's okay, Mister King Dice!"

"No, it's _not_." Dice shook his head, scowling. "Demon or not, you're just a kid. You deserve better than **that**." He used his free hand to point at the Devil who, at this point, had turned into a dragon-like creature to attack Cuphead and Mugman. Bendy frowned, sighing sadly as he moved to free Dice's other hand.

"I don't…I don't want to be with Dad anymore." He admitted. "After everything he did…he hurt me…so many other people…he scares me." He bit down on his lip, and King Dice gave him a thoughtful look.

"Tell you what. Help me protect my boys, and I'll do all I can to find you a better home. With a better guardian."

A small, hopeful smile crossed Bendy's face as he finally managed to free both of Dice's hands.

Meanwhile, it seemed the Devil had decided to take the fight to the next level, as their surroundings changed. The boys knew that they were still in hell, but they were now standing on platforms in mid-air.

Cuphead gritted his teeth, looking around warily.

"Where'd he go?!" Mugman turned, gasping as he saw the Devil rising behind them.

He'd grown maybe three, if not TEN times his original size, standing right in the middle of the abyss before them, a red tinge to his fur, a big, evil smile on his face.

For just a second, Cuphead felt his heart stop. He couldn't help but be reminded of all the terrifying drawings he'd seen as a little kid, of a big red devil.

"_**STILL FEELING CONFIDENT, BOYS?!" **_The Devil's voice was huge, booming, and terrifying, seeming to come from everywhere at once, bouncing off the walls, even inside Cuphead himself. The Devil raised one hand and…flicked Mugman away like a bug.

"MUGMAN!" Three voices, Cuphead, Bendy, and King Dice yelled as one as the Devil let out a horrible, booming laugh.

"_**LET THIS BE A LESSON! ANYONE WHO OPPOSES ME WILL BE DESTROYED!"**_

King Dice felt something inside him snap. It wasn't enough that the Devil had _him_ enslaved, had threatened to do the same to Cuphead and Mugman…now he had potentially killed one of his adopted sons. He gritted his teeth, getting ready to attack with his cards again (and hoping that he would be luckier than earlier)…only for them all to hear Mugman's grunting from below them.

"Mugs?!" Cuphead called out.

"Mugman?!" Bendy echoed, going over with Cuphead to peek over the side of the platform. One of the flying demons had caught Mugman, and was flying him back up.

"MUGS!" A big, relieved smile crossed Cuphead's face, and it took all his self-esteem not to run over and hug his brother as he was set down.

"But how?" King Dice asked, relieved, but confused at the same time. An equally confused look crossed the flying demon's face.

"_I was just responding to my master's wishes."_

"_**WHAT?!" **_The Devil roared. _**"I DIDN'T ASK YOU TO SAVE HIM, YOU FOOL!"**_

"_Not you!"_ The demon shook his head fervently, holding up his hands as if he was afraid of being reprimanded. _"HIM!"_ He pointed at Bendy, a surprised look crossing the younger demon's face. _"I sensed his desire for the mug to be saved, and I just…!_"

The Devil roared in fury, and the demon shrieked in fear, flying off.

"Of **course**!" King Dice slapped his fist into his open palm before looking back down at Bendy. "You're the Devil's son, so that means you have as much control over hell and its forces as your dad, Bendy!"

"But I never wanted to rule hell, or even run the casino!" Bendy protested. He balled his hands into fists, looking down miserably. "All I ever wanted was to have friends. Someone who would like me for _me_, instead of just because I was the Devil's son." A determined look then crossed his face.

"But if having these powers will give me the chance to save my friends, then fine!"

He whipped around, fireballs forming in both hands as he threw fire at his father. The Devil roared, glaring at his son.

"_**BENDY, YOU DARE…?!"**_

He didn't get a chance to continue. King Dice sent out his cards at him, like earlier, only this time, a lot more went flying out, exploding in his face at various points.

"Now's your chance, boys!" King Dice said, turning to face Cuphead and Mugman. "A couple more hits should take him down!"

"Ready?" Cuphead asked, turning to Mugman.

"Yeah!" Mugman nodded. "Let's take this creep down for good!"

"Go!" Bendy shouted. "I'll keep him distracted!" He threw more fireballs at the Devil, and Cuphead and Mugman ran at the Devil, Mugman grabbing Cuphead's hand, spinning him around to toss him at the Devil's face.

"Hey, DEVIL!"

The Devil, who was rubbing his eyes as big, angry red tears fell from them, turned to glare at Cuphead…just in time to get blasted with Cuphead's energy beam.

"_That's_ for threatening me and my brother!" Mugman then ran over, turning invincible to keep raining blasts on the Devil.

"_That's_ for King Dice!" He added, firing another blast in his foe's face. The Devil, by now, was swaying back and forth, barely able to keep his footing. Finally, both brothers used their third super art, yelling in unison:

"AND _THIS_ IS FOR BENDY!" The Cup Brothers' souls rained blow after blow on the Devil, and finally, he couldn't take it anymore. Grasping his head in both hands, the Devil let out one final roar of pain before falling backwards, unconscious.

The last thing he saw before blacking out was the Cup Brothers' triumphant smiles as they watched him fall.

**A/N**: _And thus, the Devil is finally beaten! Only one actual chapter, then all that's left is the epilogue! Hope you guys liked this chapter, leave a review if you did!_


	19. A Celebration to Remember

**A/N**: _Heya, folks! Well, here it is! The last actual chapter of Forced Bonds-all that's left after this is the epilogue! Who's excited?!_

_JOHNHAMMOND1993: Heh heh, yes. After how he's hurt them all, **including** Bendy, it's what he deserves. You're just going to have to wait and see who Bendy ends up with, and what happens to the casino ;) As for your last question-sorry to disappoint, but I currently don't have any plans to do any other Cuphead/Bendy crossover fics. That being said, if you or anyone else wanted to do something with this idea, I wouldn't mind reading it!_

_AlchemyWriter: Did the chapter seem too short? I hope it wasn't too disappointing. _

_Well, onto the chapter!_

**Disclaimer:** _I'm only one person, and not a pair of brothers and/or a whole team of people. Ergo, I'm neither of the Moldenhauer Brothers nor TheMeatly or a Kindly Beast team member, and as such don't own Cuphead or BATIM_

The Devil moaned as he regained consciousness, his eyes slowly cracking open. The first thing he saw was King Dice standing above him, his hands on his hips, a noticeably smug smile on his face.

"Well well, how the tables have turned, 'boss'." The Devil glared at him but didn't respond, seeing Cuphead and Mugman out of the corner of his eye…and Bendy standing next to them.

"_**You actually **_**beat**_** me?! Impossible!"**_ Even as he said it, the Devil knew it wasn't true. He didn't even have enough strength to put as much venom into his words as he wanted to.

"Yeah, we beat you!" Cuphead said. "ALL of us!"

"Give us King Dice's soul contract!" Mugman said, holding out his hand.

"_**NEVER!"**_ The Devil snapped. _**"He belongs to me, fair and…!"**_

"Suit yourself." Cuphead beamed, holding up his hand as his finger started to spark again. The Devil's eyes widened in obvious fear.

"_**Alright, alright! Here!"**_ He reached inside his pocket, pulling out King Dice's soul contract and giving it to Mugman, who just grinned.

"We knew you'd see it our way." Cuphead said. "Oh, and one more thing…we're taking Bendy, too!" The Devil leered at him, then looked over at Bendy, who was giving him a look of hurt and anger.

"_**So that's it, then?" **_He asked. _**"You're picking ****them**_**_ over __your own_ father?!**_**"**_

"They didn't turn me into a monster or hurt me, so yeah. I'm picking them." His voice was cold, but there was obvious hurt in it. The Devil leered at him, then looked back at the Cup Brothers.

"_**Take him and get out of my sight." **_He glared at all of them. Mugman put a comforting hand on Bendy's shoulder as they started to walk off, and King Dice looked over at them.

"Just one moment, boys." As all three of them watched, King Dice walked over to the Devil, and, pulling his leg back, delivered a good, hard kick in the ribs.

"_**AUGH!"**_

"That's for every miserable second I spent in your service." King Dice said coldly, giving him a hateful glare. "I _quit_."

Cuphead and Mugman seemed to have been waiting around for this moment, as they threw every one of the soul contracts into a nearby fire, destroying them and freeing every one of the debtors from damnation. King Dice let out a shaky sigh, almost physically feeling a huge weight lifted from his shoulders as he watched his contract burn to ash.

It was over.

After all these years in the Devil's service, he was finally free.

A genuine smile slowly found its way to King Dice's face as he looked at the boys, including Bendy.

"Come on, you three. Let's get out of here."

* * *

Cuphead and Mugman had been to a few parties before in their young lives, most of them birthday parties for their school friends, but none had quite matched the level of exuberance of the party the Inkwell Isle residents threw for them, celebrating them as heroes.

"THREE CHEERS FOR CUPHEAD AND MUGMAN!"

Bendy just stood back with a smile as he watched the festivities. He wasn't really one for parties—the loud noise and raucousness of the partygoers reminded him of the people at the casino.

All the same, he was happy for his friends…and that he'd managed to get away from his abusive father.

Mugman caught Bendy's eye and went over to him with a smile and piece of cake.

"Hey. You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great!" A big, fake smile crossed Bendy's face as he took the cake and a fork, starting to lift a bite of cake to his mouth.

Mugman, however, clearly didn't buy the lie, as his own smile faded a little.

"You sure?" Bendy lowered his fork, looking down a little.

"Truth? I don't know. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad that all of that's over…that you guys and King Dice were able to escape Da…the Devil with your souls…and that you saved me…" At this, Bendy reached up to feel his broken horn, which Cuphead, Mugman, and King Dice had helped him bandage the previous night, while he was staying with them.

"I just…" Bendy continued. "I don't know what's going to happen to me now." His tail drooped. "A lot of people still don't like or trust me, and what if the Devil comes back for me?"

Cuphead, who had come over to join him and Mugman, snorted.

"Please, we all saw your old man disown you. I don't think he's coming back anytime soon. And even if he does, we'll just kick his butt again, like before!" Cuphead enthusiastically punched his hand into his fist. "I mean heck, we already did it once! As for everyone else;" A surprisingly gentle smile crossed Cuphead's face as he put a hand on Bendy's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, okay? You've got friends now—me and Mugs are gonna be here for you from now on!"

"Yeah!" Mugman agreed. "And I'm sure that once people get to know the real you, they'll like you too!"

"You really think so?" Bendy asked hopefully.

"I _know_ so!" Mugman assured him.

"Plus, King Dice is looking to find you foster parents—if and when it works out and you manage to get settled, maybe it'll be easier for you to find friends!" Cuphead assured him. Bendy's smile faded a little as he looked off to the side.

"I don't know…you really think anyone would be interested in taking in the D…?"

"Let me stop you there, Bendy old buddy." Cuphead said, holding up a finger. "King Dice was the Devil's right-hand man for a long, LONG time, and well, look at him now!" He pointed over at King Dice, who was sharing a drink with Rumor Honeybottoms, laughing at something she said.

"Plus, there are already _some_ people who like you!" Mugman added. "Junior was talking about having you over to visit sometime!" On seeing Bendy's confused look, he added "Dr. Kahl's robot."

"Don't worry, he promised he's going to make sure his dad doesn't try to experiment on you while you're there." Cuphead added, then shrugged. "Somehow, I don't think it'll be that hard for us to find you some _real_ parents. Now, you gonna join the party, or just sit around moping?" This last part he added with a cheeky grin, and Bendy laughed a little.

"Well…maybe for a few minutes."

Cuphead smiled, clapping him on the back as he and Mugman led him out to the former debtors.

King Dice watched them from where he stood, a genuine smile crossing his features.

They'd done it. Against all odds, his boys had done what he'd never managed to do…defied the Devil to his face, fought him…and won. They'd saved him, saved everyone—all while managing to keep their own souls intact. Before he could stop himself, King Dice found himself thinking back to the night he'd first found Cuphead and Mugman on his doorstep. How reluctant he'd been to take them in, convinced that he wouldn't be a good guardian.

"Guess I did something right after all." He said out loud.

"I'll say." King Dice whipped around with a start, eyes wide as he looked over at Elder Kettle.

"Good Lord, man! What're you doin', sneakin' up on people like that?! Nearly gave me a heart attack!" Elder Kettle just let out a chuckle, beaming at King Dice in a warm, almost grandfatherly way.

"I daresay this is a story they'll be telling for years on end—and it couldn't have happened without you." King Dice snorted.

"All I did was give the boys some potion. It wasn't any big deal." Even as he said it, King Dice knew it wasn't true. Without those powers, the boys could very well have _died_.

"Oh?" Elder Kettle raised a skeptical eyebrow. "So the boys decided to save the debtors all on their own, then?"

"…yes?" King Dice answered, not really seeing what Elder Kettle was getting at. "They're good kids. Better than I was at their age."

"Because they learned from watching you." Elder Kettle informed Dice. "In spite of the fact that you were forced to do the Devil's work, you still tried to help others, when you could. To do good, and not just be a slave to him." He smiled gently, putting a hand on King Dice's shoulder. "You've done a fine job raising those boys. You helped make them heroes. I'm proud of you, Dice. And I know Teacup and Teaspoon would be, too." King Dice smiled warmly, looking up at the sky as if he could see his old friends.

_I guess we all kind of helped each other grow-me and your...our, boys. Never thought I'd say this...but thanks for leaving them at my door that night. _

**A/N**: _Hope this ending wasn't too sappy for you guys. __I enjoyed writing it-and the story in general! This isn't quite the end though-like I said, there's still an epilogue left...nothing too grand, just tying up a loose end or two. Anyway, leave a review, please!_


	20. Epilogue

**A/N**: _Well, here it is, folks! The grand (well, maybe not THAT grand) finale of Forced Bonds. I...honestly have no reason for not posting this earlier other than, well, life happening. All the same, I have loved working on this story...probably not my best, but I had fun with it anyway, and I'm glad that I was able to find at least some people who enjoyed reading it! You guys are awesome, you really are :)_

_Pitch'snieceanddaughterofMew: Oh, well hey there! I'm glad you've been loving the story-it's good to see a new reader...even if it's kind of late, heh ^^' All the same, I hope you like the way this wraps up!_

_AlchemyWriter: Thanks! Any positive review is a good review!_

_Well, onwards to the end now!_

_Disclaimer: I own neither BATIM nor Cuphead, if I owned either, I'd likely have a lot more money, heh. _

"Hey, not so fast!" Mugman called, moving as fast as he could to try and catch Bendy, who just laughed in response.

"Try and keep up!" The little demon called…just in time for Cuphead to catch up with him, grabbing his shoulder.

"Tag! You're it!"

"Gah!" Bendy fell over in surprise, all three boys laughing as Mugman jogged over, wiping the tears from his eyes.

It had been two months since the incident at the casino. King Dice had been able to find a nice couple who were happy to take Bendy in. They were both human, but they accepted Bendy with open arms, not caring about the fact that he was the Devil's son, or even a demon at all.

As a matter of fact, no one had seen the Devil since that day…the casino had gone out of business, and the workers, sans King Dice, were either arrested for their crimes, or turned themselves in, resolving to try and turn their lives around.

As for King Dice, as he no longer had a job, he was currently looking for new employment, an _honest_ job this time.. His latest foray had been at a bookstore, where he'd actually managed to get an interview. It had gone really well, and from the look in the shopkeeper's eye, Dice had high hopes that this would be the one.

In-between looking for new jobs, he still managed to be a good father to Cuphead and Mugman, and had even gotten a soft spot for Bendy, despite himself.

And he wasn't the only one—along with Cuphead and Mugman, Bendy had managed to make a couple new friends on Inkwell Isle. There was a wolf named Boris who, despite sometimes teasing Bendy, still liked spending time with him. He had also gotten close to an angel named Alice, who, Cuphead couldn't help but notice, he seemed to have a little bit of a crush on. Kind of weird, a demon liking an angel…but then again, it wasn't like anything about their adventures or friendship up to that point had been normal.

"Bendy, your dad's here!" King Dice called, just as Bendy's foster father walked outside, smile in place.

"Come on, buddy, time to get home. Your mom's fixing dinner, and you _know_ how she gets when the entire family isn't home to enjoy it."

"Okay, Dad!" Bendy smiled big as he pulled himself up, running over to the man.

"Hey Bendy, still up for baseball next Saturday?" Mugman asked, to which Bendy nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course! I've got to beat Boris, after all!"

"Not if I beat _both_ of you first!" Cuphead boasted, to which Mugman let out a sigh.

"I thought you wanted to be on the same team…"

Bendy's adopted father chuckled a little at the boys' antics, as King Dice shook his head.

"Kids…" Despite his tone of voice, he couldn't stop himself from smiling, and the other man turned to him.

"Thanks for helping me find my son." He said gratefully, to which King Dice shrugged.

"Well, what was I supposed to do? Leave him with his biological dad? Like _hell_." He patted Bendy's head as they turned to leave, and something suddenly came to Cuphead.

"Hey wait, hold on!" He ran over, looking up at Bendy's adopted father. "Sorry sir, but I just realized…I don't really know your name." He admitted, looking off to the side.

"Really, Cuphead?" Mugman gave him an incredulous look, and the man just gave him a gentle smile.

"It's Henry. Henry Stein." He turned to leave with Bendy, the latter giving the brothers and King Dice one last wave before following his new father. Cuphead and Mugman smiled as they watched them leaving.

Bendy was happy with parents who actually loved him now, they'd freed their adoptive father from his own bond with the Devil and they had a much better, closer relationship, all three of them were the best of friends…all was right with the world.

**A/N**: _Short, yeah, but I couldn't think of a WHOLE lot more that needed to be said. I kind of wanted to leave the future of King Dice's work life ambiguous, hence why he hasn't found something else yet (though back in those days, it was likely a LOT easier to get a job). Don't worry though, he'll find something. And yes, of course Bendy's adoptive father (and one of the men from that earlier chapter) was Henry, who else would it be?! XD_

_Well, this may be it for me with fanfics, (full-length ones, anyway,) at least for a while. I **may** continue the DP MSA series at some point with a DP rewrite of Hellbent, but other than that, I kind of just want to stick with my webcomic, Myth City, as well as real life. But hey, who knows what the future will bring?_

_Well, in any case, see you when I see you, guys. It's been great!_


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